


In a League of Our Own

by Thatonegayone



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: 1940s, A League of Their Own AU, Baseball, F/F, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23621059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonegayone/pseuds/Thatonegayone
Summary: “Good game, you two.” His voice was rich and deep, “can I spend a minute of your time and tell you about an opportunity to play professional baseball?”Emma took one look at the man and rolled her eyes — just another con man trying to get some money out of Greg… Again. “Keep walking bud, he’s not interested.”The Nolans kept walking, leaving a full breadth between themselves and the fedora man. He turned to watch them with a grin. “I wasn’t talking about him. I was talking to you, ma’am.” The grin broke into a full Cheshire smile. “The name is Trent Oliver, I’m a recruiter for Mr. Harvey’s new All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League. I’ve been traveling all over the midwest trying to find girls with talent like yours, but damn, none of them have your arm.”
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 35
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

“And with this pitch, we will see if the Nolan kids will win this one for the Edgewater Wildcats and close out the 1943 season.” The announcer spoke in hushed tones as Emma watched her cousin throw meaningless hand signs from his place behind Homebase. She shook her head to Greg to try and build the nervous energy coming from the batter, who was squinting at her. 

“That looks like a nod to Greg and then the windup…” The announcer, Bart, was still whispering — he always said it built up the tension and made everyone lean in just a little closer to the game. “Here’s the pitch!” 

The world seemed to stand still as soon as the ball left Emma’s hand. This was her favorite moment of every single game — when everything seemed to be riding on whether or not the bat would meet the ball and send it flying. It was this tiny moment of uncertainty that was everything for Emma. The ball seemingly traveled in slow motion towards Greg’s mitt. She saw the bat swing and just barely miss the ball. 

“And that’s a game!” Bart yelled over the intercom, taking Emma out of the moment as Greg caught the ball and immediately threw it back to her before rushing the pitcher’s mound.

“Dammit, Greg! Get off me.” Emma’s voice was muffled in the chest of her cousin, who was crushing her in a hug. She managed to push him off as he went to fix her hair, “you’re acting like we never win.” 

“But I told you I had a good feeling about this one, and I was right!” Greg said, pulling Emma around by her shoulders as they walked towards their grandma’s farm. 

There was a man in a three-piece suit and a wide-brimmed fedora covering his eyes standing in front of the Nolan kids, cutting off their direct path home. “Good game, you two.” His voice was rich and deep, “can I spend a minute of your time and tell you about an opportunity to play professional baseball?” 

Emma took one look at the man and rolled her eyes — just another con man trying to get some money out of Greg… Again. “Keep walking bud, he’s not interested.” 

The Nolans kept walking, leaving a full breadth between themselves and the fedora man. He turned to watch them with a grin. “I wasn’t talking about him. I was talking to you, ma’am.” The grin broke into a full Cheshire smile. “The name is Trent Oliver, I’m a recruiter for Mr. Harvey’s new All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League. I’ve been traveling all over the midwest trying to find girls with talent like yours, but damn, none of them have your arm.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Oliver, but I’m not interested. Have a good day.” Emma pulled on her cousin’s arm, “come on, Greg, Gran’s expecting us home in time for evening chores.” 

Greg, however, stood rooted where he was, staring at Trent with a squint. “Are you being honest, Mr. Oliver?” 

Trent tipped up the brim of his hat so Greg and Emma could see his eyes. “I wouldn’t lie to people like you. I can tell you’re good kids, and I want to help.” Greg tilted his head to the side as he listened to Trent’s talk. Emma just pulled on his arm and huffed in frustration, deciding to head back home without him. 

She didn’t bother to look over her shoulder. Emma was sure she was going to see Greg talked up by Mr. Oliver, and the last thing she needed was to deal with her cousin being brainwashed by yet another conman. 

Greg came jogging up to Emma as she was focused on fixing the fence. He had a shit-eating grin and a small slip of paper in his hand that Emma could only guess was a business card. 

He went to open his mouth to say something, but Emma cut him off before he could get any words out. “I don’t want to hear it, Greg.” 

“No, Emma, this is the real deal. I read the letter he had from Mr. Harvey. It was on fancy paper and everything!” Greg said, trying his hardest to catch his cousin’s eye, but really he just looked like he was trying to juke her out. 

Emma sighed and put down her hammer — she had been yelled at too many times for gesturing at Greg with it. “Greg, even if it was real — which I highly doubt it is — I have to stay here. Who else is going to look after the farm and Gran?”

“That’s why I’m here! If the Army doesn’t take me because of my asthma, then I’m going to do my part here on the homefront. And that means taking care of the farm and Gran.” Greg gave a wheeze, clearly still trying to recover from his run home. 

“Greg. I’m not going, okay?” Emma said firmly before picking up the hammer and driving a nail into the wood in one hit. 

— —

Emma woke up to the rising sun streaming through her window and the sounds of Rodney The Cowardly Rooster being chased around the yard by geese. She hated mornings, they always seemed so long, and breakfast never appealed to her, but there was work to be done. She groaned and rolled out of bed and pulled on a buttoned shirt and a pair of jeans. 

She could hear Greg and Gran already laughing at the table with the familiar sounds of cutlery and coffee cups clinking.

Everything was normal. 

Until she heard a baritone laugh ring through the house. 

“Shit.” 

She walked down into the kitchen, and sure enough, sitting with Greg and Gran was Mr. Oliver. “Ah, Emma! Speak, and she shall appear.” He smiled and lifted his coffee cup up to her like a toast. 

“Gran, how are you doing today?” Emma said curtly. Betsy Nolan was leaning back in her chair with a biscuit in hand. 

“Emma Ruth, will you please sit down?” She had a smile on her face, but her tone made it clear that she wasn’t asking. 

Emma slid into her chair and busied herself with slathering jam all over her biscuit. 

“Now, Trent, what were you saying about the league?” 

“Well, Mrs. Nolan, it’s an all girl’s baseball league. Since all the boys are off fighting the good fight, we need to keep baseball going, so Mr. Harvey thought, ‘why not use girls?’ Rosie is riveting, and Betty is up at-bat.” Trent mimed swinging a bat. “It’s $75 a week, and free housing, food, and travel. All you gotta do is play baseball. Oh! And there’s a $50 bonus if you win the championship.” 

“And it’s a regular-season?” Greg piped up. 

“Not entirely, we're going to start off with a 16 week season, a few off-weeks in between. If it takes off, Mr. Harvey would be interested in expanding to a 27 week next season.” Trent said proudly as he took another sip of coffee. 

There was something so immensely smug about him that Emma didn’t like, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested. Almost half the year spent playing baseball and traveling the country? And she would get paid on top of that? It was a tempting offer, to say the least. 

“Oh, and if things don’t work out or you feel like you can’t finish off the season, that’s no problem at all. Mr. Harvey is a very rational man, and he only wants what’s best for his girls.” 

“Well, that all sounds well and good, Mr. Oliver, but I need to get to work,” Emma said, pushing off of her chair and pulling on her galoshes to head to the barn. “I hope you have a safe trip back.” 

Trent slightly bowed his head, “thank you, Emma. I appreciate that.” 

Emma nodded and headed towards the cows, which she knew were anxious for their breakfast. She heard the door open and close behind her and the sound of a car driving away on the gravel. And sure enough, the sound of the backdoor swinging closed and footsteps headed towards the barn quickly followed. 

Emma kept her head down and focused on shoveling manure into the wheelbarrow as footsteps stopped in front of her. “Greg, I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Well, I do.” Emma looked up at the sound of Betsy Nolan’s voice. 

“Gran, I can’t go.” Emma laid her shovel against the pillar and picked up the handles of the wheelbarrow. 

“And why is that?” 

Emma sighed and put the wheelbarrow down to face her grandmother. “Because I have to be here. Who is gonna take care of you? Make sure the farm is running? Who’s going to make sure Greg doesn’t sell his kidney to someone because they ask nicely?” 

“Well, 1. No one has to take care of me, I’m sixty-seven, not four. 2. That’s what Greg is for, and if he can’t keep it going, you know, Mrs. Hansen is always looking for something to do with their boys. And when it comes to Greg, who’s to say he wouldn’t do that with you here?” She and Emma chuckled at the thought. “Emma, you love baseball, and I’d rather you go and give this a shot than stay stuck here for the rest of your life wondering what could have been.”

“Gran, I don’t know—” 

“Well, I do. So let’s get you packed and ready to go.” Betsy said with a clap. She put her arm around Emma’s shoulders and lead them back to the house. 

— —

Emma looked at the front of the train station with a suitcase and her guitar case.

“Are you ready, honey?” Betsy looked at Emma with proud tears in her eyes that Emma couldn’t help but notice. 

Emma put her bags down and wrapped her grandma into a tight hug. “I can’t do this.” 

Betsy returned the embrace wholeheartedly, “yes, you can, and you will. And you’re going to write every week, and it’s going to be the best time of your life.” 

Emma let go of Betsy and sniffled. “I love you, Gran.”

“I love you too. Now go get on that train and live your life.” She pressed a kiss to Emma’s forehead and watched as Emma picked up her bags. Betsy Nolan waving goodbye at that station was the last thing Emma saw of Edgewater, Indiana.  
— — 

Trent had turned out to be an incredibly friendly travel companion. He loved what he did, and Trent knew he did it well, and while he could come off as arrogant, his stories were fantastic. 

They were half-way to Chicago when Emma decided to take control of the conversation. “Did you always want to be a recruiter?” 

Trent gave a small laugh to himself as he shook his head. “No, I wanted to be an actor originally. I went to school for it and everything, and I was good. But I think I burned a few too many bridges being a little overzealous with my art. I used to play baseball as a kid, and a buddy of mine was a recruiter. He saw how down in the dumps I was and took me on a trip, and I’ve been doing it since.” 

“Do you miss it?” 

“Acting? Every single day of my life.” Trent looked down at the scotch in his hands and sighed. “But this,” he gestured around, “this is something that makes me happy and puts food on the table, so I’m not going to complain.” 

Emma hummed in response. 

“Anyways, that’s enough about me, what about you?” 

Emma flashed him a look of confusion. “What about me?” 

“Well, how did a farm girl in Indiana fall in love with baseball?” Trent leaned in, ready for Emma’s story. 

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I used to play with my dad when I was a kid.” Her voice was soft — if there was one thing she hated, it was talking about her parents. 

“You used to? Did he pass?” Trent’s voice was filled with genuine concern, and it made Emma feel rotten. 

“No. He and I… well, we had a falling out, and I moved in with Gran. We haven’t talked since.” 

Trent was silent for a while, looking at Emma like he was trying hard to figure out what to say. He put his hand on top of Emma’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze, “well, I guess you’re just going to have to show him all that he’s missing. It’s hard to see the people we had a falling out with do well.” 

Emma smiled at the thought. “I guess you’re right.”  
“Of course, I am.” Trent flagged down the valet and asked for another scotch. 

“What am I going to be walking into when we get to Chicago?”

Trent sighed and leaned back in his chair, “well, you’re going to be trying out for one of four teams. 12 girls on each team.” 

“And how many are going to be trying out?” Emma asked. 

“Probably around 120?” Trent didn’t look worried even though Emma could feel some anxiety building in her chest. He gave her a reassuring smile, “I wouldn’t be worried if I were you, you’re a consistent pitcher who’s a helluva batter, so you have nothing to be scared about.”

“You sure?” Her voice was soft, she wasn’t used to being complimented about how good she was at baseball. 

“Of course, I’m sure!” Trent slapped a hand onto her shoulder and shook her a little, “besides, you’re an Oliver kid now, and every one of my kids makes it on the team. I know how to find them.” 

Emma rolled her eyes at the cocky look on his face, “If you say so, buddy.” 

— — 

Emma walked through the tunnel of Wrigley Field. She was met with the sight of a hundred women in different baseball uniforms. Some were playing catch while others were just standing around, sharing cigarettes, and watching the competition. 

Emma tightened her grip on her mitt and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” 

There was a trilling of whistles as twelve coaches called to gather the women in the center of the outfield. “Alright, ladies,” one of the coaches said. “We’re going to be starting with regular running drills, then we will be dividing up: pitchers and catchers together, and basemen and outfielders together.”

He gave one more sharp whistle, and the girls all jumped to their feet and ran along the edge of the field. One more whistle and Emma followed the hoard of pitchers and catchers to crowd around the pitcher’s mound. 

“Alright, girls,” this time, it was another coach addressing the crowd. “Pair up please, we will be checking out that pitching form.” 

There was a commotion as all the girls scrambled to find the catcher to their pitcher or vise versa. Emma felt a tug on her forearm and turned to see the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. 

“Hi, I’m Alyssa Greene, are you a pitcher?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Greene, Nolan!" One of the coaches yelled to the pair, snapping Emma out of her Alyssa-induced trance. "Are you two together?" 
> 
> Emma's mouth went dry, "I — well, we—" 
> 
> Alyssa slipped her arm around Emma's and faced the coach with a smile. "Yes, sir! Emma was about to show me what she's got."

"I'm— uh," Emma stammered as this angel in front of her, Alyssa, looked at her curiously. 

"Greene, Nolan!" One of the coaches yelled to the pair, snapping Emma out of her Alyssa-induced trance. "Are you two together?" 

Emma's mouth went dry, "I — well, we—" 

Alyssa slipped her arm around Emma's and faced the coach with a smile. "Yes, sir! Emma was about to show me what she's got." She nudged Emma's shoulder and let go of the blonde before jogging across the diamond. She squatted down and hit her mitt a few times before giving the nod to Emma that she was ready. 

Emma took a breath and tried to focus — emphasis on try. This was beyond any other sort of pressure that she had ever felt before. Two coaches were watching her with hard to read expressions. Not to mention, there was the most beautiful woman Emma had ever seen looking at her expectantly. 

Emma twisted the ball around in her hand and pulled her arm back to throw it. The baseball left her hand, and Emma forgot about everything else. She was simply focused on watching it hit its intended target. There was the satisfying sound of leather hitting leather, and the ball disappeared as Alyssa closed her catcher's mitt around it. 

There was an impressed sounding hum from one of the coaches as he wrote something down on his clipboard. Alyssa arched a perfect eyebrow at Emma, who gave her a reassuring smile that the brunette returned. Alyssa passed it back to Emma, and they began this back and forth, the ball traveled from hand to glove and back again as if it was controlled by magnets. 

Emma had never had more fun playing catch with someone in her life. It was like she and Alyssa shared the same brain. They didn't have to communicate what kind of pitch Emma was going to throw, Alyssa instinctively knew and caught them with ease. It was effortless. It was like they were created to play baseball together. It was magical. 

She was pulled out of her trance by the sharp peel of a whistle. "Ladies!" One of the coaches bellowed, "we are going to be moving into batting practice. I need one woman on each base and position in the outfield, we will be cycling you all through every position. You'll bat, then first base, right field, center field, second base, then shortstop, left field, and end at third base. We will only cycle through these once."

He blew his whistle once more, and the field was a stampede of women trying to get a spot on the bases or in the line. Emma was jogging to the end of the line when she felt someone reach out and grab her arm, tugging her into line with them. Her eyes followed the hand up the arm, and she found herself face to face with Alyssa Greene. 

"Stay with me, please?" Her brown eyes were wide with something Emma couldn't quite place. Nerves? Fear? Whatever it was, it made Emma want nothing more than to make sure Alyssa never looked at her like that ever again. 

"Yeah, of course." Emma's voice was soft and hard to hear over the clamor and chatter of the other women, but Alyssa's face breaking into a dazzling smile told her that she heard Emma. 

Alyssa let go of Emma and moved to run her fingers through her curls. Emma missed the feeling of Alyssa's hand on her arm, but she found herself entranced by every movement she made. 

"So, where are you from, Emma Nolan?" 

"Indiana," Alyssa was looking at Emma like she was the most exciting thing in the world. It was intoxicating. 

"And what's your family like?" There was the sound of the pitching machine sending a baseball towards home base followed by the crack of a bat hitting it. 

The entire field went silent as everyone watched the ball effortlessly fly over the outfield wall. A shorter girl with a mane of curly black hair handed the bat to the girl after her and walked to first base like it was the most mundane thing in the world. 

Emma watched the girl for a few seconds until she was pulled back into the orbit of Alyssa Greene. "Uh— just me, my cousin and Gran. And the cows if you want to count those too." 

"Cows?" Her face lit up. "So she's a farm girl." 

"A small farm, but yeah, I guess," Emma said with a small chuckle. "Enough about me, what about you?" 

"Well, I'm from Cincinnati. I lived with my parents before I got recruited for the league." 

"How'd your husband take it?" There was zero way that someone as beautiful as Alyssa wasn't married already. However, Emma still held her breath while she waited for the answer. 

"Oh," Alyssa gave a small laugh that melted Emma just a little. "I'm not married. Much to my mother's despair. I swear, every day, I come home for dinner after work, and a different boy is sitting at the dinner table with flowers." 

They were getting closer and closer to their turns at-bat, but Emma wanted nothing more than to be able to keep talking to Alyssa. "Why haven't any gotten you to fall yet?" She tried her hardest to keep her voice casual. 

"Well," Alyssa took a minute to try and find her words, "There are some things they lack, and certain things they have too much of." 

Emma's eyebrow quirked up at the brunette's words. Her mind was racing a mile a minute as she tried to piece together what Alyssa meant by that. "Oh, that's—" 

She was cut off mid-sentence by the shriek of a whistle. "Nolan! You're up!" 

Emma jumped to take the bat from the coach, who was shaking his head at her. 

"Damn girls, always gabbing, why are we letting them play baseball?" He mumbled to himself, but Emma heard it and was filled with white-hot rage. 

The pitching machine sent a ball whizzing straight to her, and she took a breath and swung. There was the satisfying crack of the bat as it made contact with the ball and sent it soaring towards left field. It dropped in an empty pocket in front of the wall, and Emma smiled as the outfielders ran to try and get it. 

She turned to the coach with a smile, "does that answer your question?" His eyes got wide as he realized she heard everything she said and smirked as she ran to first base, pulling on her glove. 

Alyssa sent the ball flying straight down the foul line and over Emma's head. She turned and watched the football as it fell into the outfielder's glove mere inches away from the foul line. The girl threw to Emma, who threw to home, and Emma couldn't help but smile at the sight of Alyssa Greene jogging towards her, hair flowing back in the wind. 

— — 

Alyssa was sitting close enough to Emma that their arms were brushing whenever she moved. It was overwhelming. Emma didn't know that she could feel this way about someone so fast. None of the boys back at home ever made her feel like this before, and while it was all new and exciting, it was terrifying. 

Emma was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear what the head coach was saying until the herd of women rushed towards a corkboard with four pieces of paper tacked on. Alyssa pulled Emma to her feet, and they waited until they could make out the names written on the papers. Neither girl was on the Racine Belles. Not on the Kenosha Comets. Not on the South Bend Blue Sox. 

Emma found Alyssa's name under the loopy cursive of the Rockford Peaches. 

Everything slowed down as Emma read the names down that list. 

She could only hear her heart hammering in her ears and the occasional whoosh of her breathing. 

**_Rockford Peaches_ **

_ Jessica Monae Boomer _

_ Carrie Delgatto _

_ Angela Dickinson _

_ Natalie Foster _

_ Beatrix Glennon _

_ Alyssa Greene _

_ Shelby Gonzales _

_ Amanda "Kaylee" Klein  _

_ Winnifred Maxwell _

_ Emma Nolan _

_ Hayden Shields  _

_ Linda Torres _

Emma read her name until it looked like a random amalgamation of letters on a piece of paper. Then, all of a sudden, she felt Alyssa jump into her arms and wrap her legs around Emma's waist. Emma instinctually held the brunette up as Alyssa celebrated and crushed her new friend underneath her. 

Emma let her down, immediately missing the feeling of her touch, but she pushed those feelings down. 

"We're peaches!" Alyssa cheered. Her enthusiasm reminded her of Greg when they were younger, and Gran said they could have an extra helping of apple pie. 

"We're peaches!" Emma echoed with less excitement. It was sinking in that she was really doing this and wouldn't be seeing her family for the next six months. Alyssa grabbed her by the hand and pulled Emma towards a small group of women who were putting on the red Rockford Peach hats. 

Emma was handed a hat by the short, curly-haired girl who hit the home run. They gave each other a smile and a nod, then Emma went to sit next to Alyssa, and they waited for their next instructions.

"Alright, ladies. Before you grab your bags and get on the busses to your lodgings, we're going to address some rules." The teams erupted into whispers. "Firstly, the uniforms you'll be playing in." 

A young woman in an extremely short dress walked out onto the dugout. It was cut to reach just above her knee, but the pleats made it look smaller. Emma could see the flash of bright red bloomers whenever she spun around. 

The teams burst into choruses of "I can't wear that!" and "My husband will kill me!" But the only thing Emma could think about was how uncomfortable she was in long dresses. She couldn't imagine how much worse it would be in that shorter thing. Alyssa muttered something about having to squat in the dress, and Emma felt a flush growing up the back of her neck at the mental image. 

A girl sitting behind Emma raised her hand. "I can't wear that, there're no pockets for my cigarettes." 

The coaches looked at each other with bemused looks, "that's because there's no smoking. There's no smoking, no drinking, and no men. You all will be ladies if you're going to be in this league." 

The girl stood up but was quickly pulled down by an older blonde woman who gave her a look that said: "don't mess this up for yourself." 

The girl huffed and sulked as the coach continued. "You all will attend a finishing school, and all engagements must be made through your chaperones. If you have any issues or questions, please talk to your chaperones or your coaches." He pointed towards the tunnel, "All of you can get on the busses and head towards your lodgings. Classes begin tomorrow and training the day after." 

The girls all got up and traveled in groups to the bus. Alyssa stayed close to Emma, their hands brushing every few steps, and it made butterflies flap around Emma's stomach with every touch. 

Emma sat on the bus and looked around at the eleven other women who were now her team. Everyone looked just as nervous as she felt. But then Alyssa put a hand on Emma's knee and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze. Suddenly Emma knew that everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading everyone! I hope that you're staying happy and healthy this quarantine. Please leave a kudo or a comment to keep me writing (they really do help). love y'all big time


	3. Chapter 3

"Ladies, you must remember to keep your legs crossed at your ankles — never the knee. Only whores cross their legs at the knee." Dee Dee Allen, the Peach's chaperone, said during the table etiquette lesson. 

They had already gone through the basic grooming lessons and adjustments that Dee Dee and the league deemed necessary. Emma had her brows plucked until they were red, and was fitted for a new, more fashionable, pair of glasses. It became more and more evident with every lesson on proper makeup and fashion that they were expected to be models and movie stars as well as baseball players. 

After all, the league's unofficial motto was: Look like a Lady, Play like a Man.

Alyssa and Emma would hide giggles throughout lessons. They would always burst into angry rants when they were back in their bedroom in the boarding house. 

"Why do we have to spend more time at charm school than at practice?" Alyssa yelled into her pillow after a particularly infuriating lesson on hem lengths and walking in high heels. 

"Maybe we need more help being ladies than being good baseball players. Anyway, it's not like it matters if the team manager isn't even here yet." Emma said with a chuckle as she moved to take the makeup that Dee Dee had smeared across her face earlier that day. 

Alyssa looked up from the pillow at Emma, who was viciously scrubbing her face. "Em, you're going to get a rash if you do it like that. Can I help?" 

Emma kept scrubbing and mumbled something about wanting to do it herself. There was a knock at the door, followed by a voice. "It's Angie, are you two decent?" 

"No."

"Not at all." 

Both girls shook their heads as Angie, a very tall and leggy blonde woman, waltzed into the room with a pile of letters and something hidden under her shirt. "Mail call!" 

"And?" Alyssa fluttered her eyelashes at Angie. 

"And something to actually make you two interesting!" Angie said in a sing-songy voice as she pulled out a bottle of scotch. 

Emma ran to close the wide-open door, and Alyssa jumped off of her bed. Both girls looked at the bottle of alcohol like it was a loaded gun. 

"What the hell is that, Angie?" Emma hissed. 

Alyssa looked from the bottle to Emma to Angie and back again in a panic. "They told us day one that we can't drink." 

Angie rolled her eyes and opened the bottle, moving to sit on Emma's bed and take a swig from it. "Please, they're not going to look through our stuff or come up into our bedrooms at night. We're fine." She pointed the bottle at the girls, "you two need to live a little. I shouldn't be the one who's trying to get you two to act your age." 

Alyssa's posture relaxed after she took in Angie's logic and sighed as she reached for the bottle. Alyssa took a big swig and made a face of immediate regret. 

"Okay, Emma, it's your turn." Angie wiggled her eyebrows at Emma. 

"I don't want to do this," Emma mumbled, looking down at the floor uncomfortably. 

Angie caught up on the nervous energy and quickly jumped off the bed to wrap an arm around Emma's shoulders. "That's fine, kid! But if you ever want to just let me know. I may be a decade older than you, but I still want you to have fun!" She maneuvered Emma to sit next to Alyssa. "Anywho, I have some mail for you!" 

Emma looked at the letter that Angie handed her. It was her gran's handwriting, and it instantly made Emma homesick. "It's from my Gran. I think I'm gonna go read this outside." She said as she kept looking at the letter. 

She didn't wait for a response as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Emma found a spot near a window in the hallway and slid down the wall to the floor. 

_ Emma,  _

_ It's crazy to think you've only been gone a few weeks, but I'm so proud of you for making the team! Greg and I have already stitched up some Rockford Peach flags that we are going to hang outside the house on your game days. Speaking of, Greg managed to fix that crackle on the radio, so we can listen to all your games.  _

_ Promise me that you're going to let us know when and where they're all going to be played. If any are close enough, we can come to see you and cheer you on!  _

_ I hope you like all of your teammates and that practices are going well. We saw the pictures of the uniforms in the paper, and they're something. Please try not to get too roughed up when you're sliding.  _

_ Greg sends his love. So do the cows and Rodney.  _

_ I miss you so much, honey. Please be safe and make sure you're taking in every moment of this experience.  _

_ I love you, _

_ Gran.  _

Emma read and reread the letter until she had it almost committed to memory. She only looked up from the paper when she saw that someone was standing in front of her. 

"I promise the words won't disappear if you look away," Kaylee said as she slid down the wall to side across from Emma. 

Kaylee was petite and thin, but she made up for her lack of height by always being the loudest person in the room. Girls like her were born for the spotlight, and she knew it. 

"Sorry, Kaylee, I just— It's from my Gran." Emma sighed, folding the letter and putting it in the back pocket of her pants for safekeeping. 

Kaylee waved a dismissive hand, "you're okay, this is the longest I've been away from home, too." 

"How're you taking it?" 

Kaylee started playing with her hands as she talked. "It's fine. I just— I don't know. I just miss my family, and there was this boy." 

Emma leaned forward, "a boy?" 

"It's silly. His name is Nick, and we grew up together. He's somewhere in France right now, but I don't know. I always had hoped something would have happened before he left, but— I guess we'll never know." Kaylee sighed and moved to stand up, holding out a hand to help Emma to her feet. "You better get back to your room, I saw Angie walk in there, and God knows what she managed to convince Alyssa to do." 

As if on cue, Emma and Kaylee saw Angie slink out of Emma and Alyssa's bedroom, holding the bottle underneath her shirt. She threw an apologetic look at Emma as she ran into her own bedroom. 

"Oh, no," Emma muttered, terrified to think about what she was about to walk into. 

Kaylee patted her on the back and whispered, "good luck," before she went down the hall towards her bedroom. 

Emma took a deep breath and opened the door. 

Alyssa was standing in the middle of the room, swaying and humming a song to herself. 

"Lys? You okay?" Emma asked tentatively. The last thing she wanted to do was to spook the clearly drunk girl. 

Alyssa whipped around to look at the blonde with a huge smile. "Em!" She was trying her hardest to keep quiet, but it was coming off more like a whispered yell. "Emma, come dance with me!" 

Emma looked cautiously at the outstretched hand of her catcher. "There's no music." 

"You don't need music to dance!" Alyssa whispered loudly. 

Emma grabbed Alyssa's hand, "I think that's the one thing you do need to dance, honey." Emma couldn't help but smile as she was pulled into Alyssa, so they were nose-to-nose. 

Alyssa shook her head so hard that a few curls fell loose from her bun, falling into her face. "Not true. All you need is a partner." She started to sway back and forth with a giddy smile that Emma couldn't help but return. 

They swayed for what simultaneously felt like hours and mere seconds. It was like everything melted away except this girl in front of her. Emma found herself lost in Alyssa's eyes, and all she wanted was to dance with her forever. Then Emma caught the whiff of alcohol, and everything came crashing back to reality. 

"Alyssa?" Emma said softly, pulling back from the dancing girl. 

"Hmmm?" 

"I think it's time for bed. We have practice tomorrow." Emma led Alyssa to sit down on her bed. "I'm going to run downstairs and get you some water, can you get into your pajamas?" 

Alyssa nodded and pawed at her clothes, trying to pull them off. Emma quickly excused herself from the room before she saw more than she bargained for. 

Emma took a while to get the glass of water for Alyssa. She wanted to make sure to give the catcher ample time to get dressed for bed, and when she made it back up into their room, Alyssa was already in bed, fast asleep. Emma set the glass on the nightstand and slipped into bed. 

— —

"I swear, if we don't have a manager by the season opener, I'm going to go crazy," Shelby grumbled as she pulled on her mitt for their cutoff practice. 

Alyssa was busy tying her cleats, "apparently he's driving from Los Angles. I mean— he's  _ Barry Glickman. _ He's done more movies than Katherine Hepburn." 

"Still doesn't mean that he can just not show up for all of our pre-season practice." Shelby huffed, Carrie and Jess Monae nodded in agreement behind her. 

Emma pushed up off of the bench and headed towards the field, smiling a little as she saw the team following closely behind. "Guys, this is our last practice before we hit the road. Let's just focus on these cutoffs, and we're going to do just fine." 

"Or you could actually play some real baseball." A voice said from the dugout. 

The women spun around to see a grinning Barry Glickman in a white suit and a matching wide-brimmed hat. 

"Don't be staring at me like I'm the second coming, let's see you girls play some ball!" He clapped his hands at the girls as they all ran to their positions. 

Emma gave a look over her shoulder to Shelby at first base, who just shrugged. Winnie stepped up to bat and nodded to Emma. Emma drew back to throw and— 

"Hold it!" Barry yelled, sauntering up to the pitcher's mound. "Blondie, stay there, Curly, get over here." He motioned at Alyssa, who pulled off her catchers mask, confused. 

"What's going on?" Alyssa asked as she jogged up to Emma and Barry. 

Barry looked at Emma and then Alyssa and back again like he was trying to figure out what to wear in the morning. "Girls, I just—  _ This,"  _ he gestured at the two of them. "Isn't working for the kind of story I want to be telling with the team." 

"Excuse me?" Alyssa asked coldly.

"Oh, Lord, no. You're both pretty girls, but I want my pitcher and catcher to be more dynamic. I want pizzaz, and I'm not seeing it right now."

"That's because we're not here to give you pizzaz, we're here to play baseball." Alyssa snapped with pure venom in her voice and a fire in her eye. 

"But you're not. I was brought out to be your team manager because not only did I have a three thirty-three batting average back in my day, but I know how to draw a crowd." He said all of this with pride, puffing out his chest. "And if we're going to get this league to take off, I'm going to need  _ more _ from you both. The rest of the team will follow, but it's you two who set the pace." 

"I— I just play baseball." Emma managed to say, she was trying her hardest to put together just what "pizzaz" was and how it related to baseball. 

Barry put both of his hands on Emma's shoulders and whispered, "you're going to have to do a lot more than just baseball, Blondie." He gave her a little pat with both hands and turned on his heel towards the dugout. 

Emma gave a fuming Alyssa a confused look, "what just happened?" 

Alyssa shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't like this." 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Peach locker room was bustling with nervous energy. Angie kept sharing stories about her pageant days to try and lighten the mood. Jess Monae paled every time Barry waltzed into the room with a time announcement. Emma was busy trying to put her mandated face of makeup on. 

The Peach locker room was bustling with nervous energy. Angie kept sharing stories about her pageant days to try and lighten the mood. Jess Monae paled every time Barry waltzed into the room with a time announcement. Emma was busy trying to put her mandated face of makeup on. 

"I just don't get why we have to wear makeup if we're just going to sweat it all off." Emma huffed as she tried to swipe on lipstick for the fifth time. "This is bullshit!" 

Alyssa sat down next to Emma as she buttoned up her uniform. "Can I help?" Her voice was calm, even, and soft. 

Emma let out a sigh and found herself getting lost in the brown eyes in front of her. "I just can't make it look right." 

"Here," Alyssa reached out and placed her hand on top of Emma's, taking the tube of lipstick. "Let me." 

Emma shifted uncomfortably on the bench but leaned forward towards Alyssa. Alyssa swung a leg over the bench, so she was straddling it, and she scooted closer to Emma. She gently took Emma's chin in her hand and brought her closer. 

The feeling of Alyssa's hand on her face and the way that Alyssa was focused on Emma's lips was almost overwhelming for the pitcher. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until Alyssa had let go and leaned back. 

"Beautiful," Alyssa said under her breath. Emma felt her stomach swoop at the word. No one had ever called her that before, and there was something about the way that Alyssa said it that made Emma's heart stutter in her chest.   
  
Emma came back to Earth when she saw Shelby watching her from over Alyssa's shoulder. Emma cleared her throat and leaned away from Alyssa, trying her hardest not to notice the way that Alyssa's smile faltered. 

"Thanks," Emma muttered, taking the lipstick from Alyssa and turned her focus towards tying her cleats. 

Barry burst into the room with a flourish. "Alright, ladies, we are going to give them a show. Just go out there and play some baseball."

— — 

"It's the season opener for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. We got the Rockford Peaches against the Kenosha Comets. I hope you're ready folk because all of you will be seeing some of the prettiest girls from across the nation playing baseball better than DiMaggio. So come on out to League Park and bring the kiddies too." 

The announcer's voice echoed across empty stands. Emma was warming up her arm as she looked around and counted every person sitting in the stadium. 10 people were there. 

"Well, this is depressing," Shelby muttered as she walked up to Emma with Carrie trailing closely behind. 

"Yeah, it's not ideal, that's for sure," Emma said, stretching out her shoulder after throwing the ball to Alyssa. 

"I heard Barry talking to Dee Dee," Carrie said. "Apparently, if we don't draw a crowd, we're dead in the water. So, we better start bringing folks in, because I'm not going back to working in that factory again." 

Emma caught the ball that Alyssa hurled at her without looking at the brunette. "Gran would be crushed if she doesn't see at least one game." She drew back to pitch back to Alyssa but felt a hand on her wrist before she could release the ball. 

"If you let that ball go, you'll be down a catcher, and I have a feeling you're gonna need me," Alyssa said with a laugh, looking around the stadium. "Let's just throw the bases." 

The girls nodded and hustled into their positions. Shelby ran to her place at first base, and Carrie was standing between second and third as shortstop. 

Emma threw to Alyssa, who passed to Shelby, who passed to Carrie. They kept going like that for a few minutes, building up a good rhythm until a man climbed on top of the dugout. 

"Girls can't play ball!" Emma could smell the gin from where she was standing. "Hey! Look! I'm a ballplayer!" 

The man had rolled his pants past his knees and was shrieking in a falsetto. He pranced around the top of the dugout. Emma rolled her eyes and shot a look at Alyssa, whose face was the definition of disgust. 

Before Emma could open her mouth to yell something at the man, he was already doubled over in pain thanks to a baseball to the stomach. 

Carrie was standing there with a smile and an empty mitt. "What? It slipped!" Emma couldn't help but laugh as the man crawled back into the stands looking defeated. 

Barry climbed out of the dugout and motioned for the four to come to talk to him. They all jogged up to the manager, each patting Carrie on the back as a thank you. However, their smiles and good moods faded at the withering look on Barry's face. 

"I need all of you to look like I'm mad at you," he whispered. All of his hand motions were sharp and angry, but his voice had a twinkle of amusement. Emma glanced at the girls who all nodded solemnly but had a sparkle in their eyes. "That good for nothing, drunken geezer is about to eat his words after this game, right?" 

The women nodded. 

"Good. Now I want all of you to go back into the locker room and have a laugh, and then you're going to come out here and play the best goddamn game of baseball these ten people have ever seen." He pointed angrily towards the locker room with a wink at Carrie. 

The girls filed off into the dugout and into the locker room, past Dee Dee, who was fuming about how her young ladies shouldn't have to put up with jeering drunkards. 

"I can't believe you, Carrie!" Alyssa squealed with laughter as they ran into the locker room. 

Carrie was too busy wheezing for air, doubled over a bench. 

"We gotta get a grip, or they're going to start the game without us!" Emma gasped between laughs. 

"I'd like to see them try," Shelby said, wiping her tears in the mirror and giving her makeup a once over. "Alyssa, Emma needs a touch up if you wanna get on that." 

Emma felt a blush spreading across her face and down the back of her neck. She legged it to the mirror, wiping the streaks of mascara on her cheeks. She heard Alyssa whisper something to Shelby, but couldn't make out what it was. 

She had just finished fixing her makeup when Dee Dee came into the room. "Ladies, Barry is asking for you. I believe we're starting very soon. The manager of the league approached me about singing the National Anthem." She added with a proud little flourish. 

Carrie gave Emma a look behind Dee Dee's back, and Emma had to use everything she had within her to not laugh. Carrie and Shelby left the locker room, quickly followed by Dee Dee, who was busy warming up her voice, Alyssa was looking at Emma expectantly. 

"What?" Emma grumbled, trying to snuff out the butterflies fluttering around her stomach. 

Alyssa shrugged, "ready?" 

"As I'll ever be, I guess." 

Alyssa took a deep breath and sighed, "everything changes today. Today we're making history."

"Oh god, don't say it like that. We're playing ball, and that's that." Emma nudged the brunette with her elbow. 

"Are you nervous?" Alyssa's voice was softer as she slowed down in the hallway leading to the dugout, causing Emma to turn and face her. 

"Terrified. You?" 

Alyssa let out a breathy laugh and held up her hand for Emma to see, "shaking just a little." 

"Well," Emma reached out and held Alyssa's hand in her own. "We'll just have to get through this together, then." 

— — 

"And we have number 42, Miss Kit McRae up to bat for the Comets." The announcer said, trying to hype up the unresponsive crowd. "Here's the pitch from Emma Nolan." 

There was a moment of silence as Emma watched Kit stare at the ball hurtling towards her. There was the whoosh of a bat and the sound of the ball being caught. 

"Strike One."

The ball came back to Emma, and she wound up for the next pitch but heard the sound of running behind her. 

"EMMA," it was Carrie. 

Emma pivoted and instinctually threw to third base, where she knew Natalie would be. The runner dropped into the dirt and slid to third base where Natalie was standing, glove outstretched. Emma saw the Kenosha Comet get tangled up in Natalie's legs, and both the girls hit the ground in slow motion. 

The third-base coach made a motion with her arms, and the umpire called out "two outs." 

Natalie reached out to help up the runner on the floor, but her hand was batted away. 

"Looks like there's some drama happening at third base between number 32 for the Peaches, Natalie Sheilds, and number 3 on the Comets, Betty Holliday." The announcer was clearly grasping for straws to keep the game interesting for the dwindling crowd. 

— — 

"Looks like number 22 and first baseman Shelby Gonzales is next up in the batting order. And here's the pitch—" 

Shelby swung the bat and stood there with a smug smile as she watched the ball fly over the back fence. She tossed the bat towards the dugout, where the rest of the team was losing their minds. Shelby took off in a light jog around the bases, only to be jumped on by a celebrating Kaylee as she reached home plate. 

"And it looks like we have a slugger on our hands with Miss Shelby Gonzales." 

— — 

"Jess, if you can get Angie to score, we win the game," Barry said to the short girl who was shaking with nerves. "Just get her enough time to run, and it's in the bag." 

Jess nodded as she turned to head towards the plate. She took one last look at Barry, who gave her a big thumbs up before sitting down next to Emma. 

Jess swung and hit the ball, which was riding the foul line. The entire team held their breath as they simultaneously watched Angie sprint towards home, and the first baseman run towards the ball. Emma felt Alyssa's hand on her knee, squeezing it in a mix of anticipation and nerves.

Miraculously the ball landed just in front of the girl's mitt, and Angie touched home. 

The Peaches went wild. Kaylee and Shelby jumped up and down in celebration while the rest of the team stormed first base, where Jess was frozen in shock. 

"And with that spectacular hit, the Rockford Peaches win 5-3. Make sure to tell your friends and come out to the next game." 

Emma walked towards the locker room. She heard someone running up behind her. 

"That wasn't so bad!" Alyssa said, trying to catch her breath. 

"Not at all, just playing some baseball—"

"— and making history," Alyssa said in a sing-songy voice. 

"Yeah," Emma tried to hide her smile, "that too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my loves! Comments and Kudos keep me writing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, I think you can all tell that we aren’t doing too well with drawing a crowd.” There were some mumbles of agreement from the team. “And, we have decided that we are going to revamp some things that we have been doing to help bring in more fans. However, with that being said, we need your help.”

The next month was filled with traveling and playing games to nearly empty stadiums. 

The baseball was still good, though. Barry consistently said he had never seen better ballplayers, even if they still lacked the sparkle that he insisted the league needed. This was something that the president of the league agreed with. 

The team was called to a meeting in the locker room after a long practice. Dee Dee and Barry stood in the front of the room with a man the girls had never seen before. He carried himself with confidence like he knew he was important, but he had deep, genuine smile lines and bags under his eyes. 

“Ladies,” Barry nodded. “This is Mr. Tom Hawkins, he’s in charge of PR for the league.” 

There was a smattering of applause, and Mr. Hawkins tipped the bill of his hat to the team. “Hello ladies, it’s fantastic to finally be able to meet you all. I am here on behalf of the league.” 

He shifted his weight from leg to leg as he spoke and took his hat off like he was about to deliver bad news. Emma’s stomach dropped at the thought that he was going to shut them down. She just found these girls, and she still had so much to give to the sport. 

“Well, I think you can all tell that we aren’t doing too well with drawing a crowd.” There were some mumbles of agreement from the team. “And, we have decided that we are going to revamp some things that we have been doing to help bring in more fans. However, with that being said, we need your help.”

Dee Dee revealed a stack of papers from behind her back and started passing them out to the team. Barry followed closely behind with pencils. 

“These are questionnaires that we will need to fill out to get to know all of you better.” He gestured toward the paper in Emma’s hands. “And we will also be changing some things within the league itself. First of all, to make everything easier for your chaperones and managers, there will be no fraternization with members of other teams. Please keep it all on the field. The only exceptions that will be made are if you have family on another team.” 

Emma hadn’t had the chance to get to know any of the other ballplayers outside of games. So, this wasn’t going to be a significant change. Her only wish was that the rest of the changes would be like this — small and manageable. 

“We are also upping your games per week,” Mr. Hawkins fiddled with his hat. “Instead of three games on the weekends, you’re going to be playing six games a week, including the doubleheaders on Sundays. Practices and your visits to charm school will continue throughout the season.” 

Carrie raised her hand, “Mr. Hawkins, everyone works on the weekdays. Are we expected to play to even emptier stands?” 

“Ah, yes, that’s a great question. We will be starting games later in the evening, and will be rolling out some new incentives for people who come.” He pointed yet again to the questionnaires. “The information you’ll be giving us will also help bring folks out. We want to make you all just as big as the men, so these will help the fans get to know you all better. We will also have various newspapers and magazines coming to cover the games and all of you.” Mr. Hawkins held up his hand as the locker room was filled with excited whispers. “I know it’s exciting, but you must be all on your best behavior from here on out. You’ll be even more in the public eye, and everyone knows you’re an All-American girl, and you’re a Peach, so make us proud.” 

Barry stepped forward, “and with that all said, we need to get ready to get on the bus to South Bend. Girls hit the showers, and I hope you already packed everything you need because it’s going to be a long night, and we are not stopping for any reason.” He put a hand on Mr. Hawkins’s shoulder, “how about we go into my office and have a drink while the girls get themselves cleaned up?” 

The men left the room, followed closely behind by Dee Dee after she checked on the girls’ strawberries. It was her name for the cuts and road rash that were constantly reopening as soon as they started to heal thanks to having to slide into bases in short dresses. As the chaperone, one of Dee Dee’s many responsibilities was first aid, so she often found herself handing out ice packs and bandages to the peaches. 

“What hobbies do you have?” Shelby read aloud from the paper, “what’s your favorite color? Do you have anyone fighting overseas? If you weren’t a ballplayer, what would you love to do?” 

Jess snorted as she looked up from her questionnaire, “what’s your favorite thing to cook? Tell a story about your childhood pet? Tell us about your family? Are they trying to get to know us as players, or do they want to ask us on a date?” 

Angie riffled through the pages, “there’s not  _ one _ thing here about baseball. It’s like I’m back in my pageant days.” 

“Well,” Alyssa sighed, putting her questionnaire in her bag before she grabbed her towel to head to the showers. “I guess we’re just going to have to make our baseball speak for itself then.” 

— — 

“Emma, you’re going to be sore if you keep trying to sleep like that,” Alyssa said, not looking up from her book. 

Emma was trying her hardest to get comfortable enough to get some sleep on the bus headed to South Bend. She and Alyssa literally ran to the bus to claim the long bench in the back so they would have space to spread out. The only downside was the strange curve in the backrest that always wreaked havoc on Emma’s neck. 

“I’m tryna get comfy,” Emma whispered, the last thing she wanted was to be yelled at by the team for waking them up. 

“And you’re not going to if you sleep like that,” she sighed, patting her lap a few times. “Lay down, you’ll be more comfortable.” 

“I’m not sleeping in your lap,” Emma grumbled. 

“It’ll be better than waking up with a stiff neck.” Alyssa was still busy reading her book and patting her lap with her free hand. 

Emma huffed and looked around the bus. Kaylee was busy writing a letter a few rows in front of them, but everyone else was fast asleep. Emma saw Alyssa raise an eyebrow out of the corner of her eye, and she sighed, scooching down, so her head rested just above Alyssa’s knees. 

Alyssa gave a small smile that she quickly got under control and moved her free hand to rest on Emma’s head. Emma had to admit, her lap was far more comfortable than the bench, but she’d never say that out loud to the catcher. 

She quickly found herself drifting off to sleep as Alyssa ran her fingers through Emma’s blonde curls. It was a comforting, intimate gesture that Emma hadn’t felt in a very long time, and it made her stomach pang. Emma managed to push those feelings down and quickly fell asleep as a smiling Alyssa read her book. 

— —

Emma was warming up her arm with Alyssa for the fourth game of the week when Tom Hawkins walked onto the field with a posse of reporters with cameras following closely behind. 

“Alyssa?” He called for the catcher who pulled off her mask to reveal a confused and slightly worried face that changed into a big smile in seconds. He motioned for her to come to join him and pulled her into a hushed conversation. 

Emma watched the conversation curiously. Within a minute, Alyssa walked back to Emma with an uncomfortable smile on her face. “What was that about?” Emma’s head slightly cocked to the side in confusion. 

Alyssa shook her head as she furrowed her brows. “Mr. Hawkins said he wants Life Magazine to do a story on me — well, three other girls and me. One from each team. But he was talking about how he read my questionnaire and looked at my stats from the last few games, and he thought I’d be the best to draw a bigger crowd. Especially with my Dad…” 

She got quieter and seemingly shrunk when she mentioned her father. Emma never heard Alyssa talk about her dad, even when the team was talking about who they had fighting overseas. Emma never pried or asked because she could see that the topic made Alyssa uncomfortable, which was something she never wanted to do. 

Emma didn’t know what to say, so she just reached out and pulled Alyssa into a hug. She didn’t understand why she did it, but the feeling of Alyssa relaxing in her arms told her it was the right choice. 

“He’s in Italy right now, and Mom and I haven’t heard anything. Even when we do get a letter, it’s almost entirely blacked out, but I guess that’s just how it is with Master Sergeant Greene as a father.” Alyssa gently pulled out of the hug, giving Emma a reassuring smile. “I can’t focus on that all right now though, we have to give these reporters a show.” 

“God, you’re starting to sound like Barry,” Emma said with a laugh, readjusting the glove on her hand. 

Alyssa shrugged as she ran back to her position and squatted down, “he does make a point, if we want a crowd, we have to give them something to come out and see.” 

“How about a fine game of baseball?” Emma threw the ball to Alyssa, who caught it with ease. 

Alyssa passed it back as she shook her head, “they can see baseball in the parks on the weekend, we need to give them an experience they can’t get anywhere else.” 

Barry called the team back to the dugout and gave his dramatic “let’s give them something to talk about” speech before leading the group into the “V for Victory” for the National Anthem. 

It was the bottom of the seventh inning when Dottie Henson for the Blue Sox popped up a foul. Alyssa jumped up and tore her mask off, watching the ball like a hawk and positioning herself so it would fall perfectly into her glove. Emma watched amused, balls like this were nothing for Alyssa, that being said, she was not prepared when she saw Alyssa drop down into a perfect split. 

The tiny crowd went wild along with both teams as Alyssa effortlessly caught the ball. Emma stood there with her mouth agape while she watched Alyssa get up from her gymnastics demonstration. Her heart was racing at the sight she just saw. She pushed those feelings down and blamed on the adrenaline of the game itself, even though she knew why she was feeling this way. She just didn’t want to admit it. Admitting it would change everything, and Emma liked how things were. 

The rest of the game was nowhere near as eventful as Alyssa’s seventh-inning stunt. Still, the energy in the entire stadium had wholly changed. The people in the stands were actually into the game for the first time all season. The press was going crazy, taking a flurry of pictures of the players and scribbling down names, numbers, and plays. The game ended 2-1 South Bend, but Emma didn’t care. With that photo of Alyssa smiling at the cameras, catching the baseball while in the splits, Emma knew things for the league were going to start changing for the better. 

There was a knock at the door of the locker room that Dee Dee answered, giving the room a quick check to see that all the girls were decent before welcoming in Barry and Hawkins. Barry had a broad smile on as he looked at his team. His eyes sparkling with glee when he saw Alyssa. 

Hawkins cleared his throat, which quickly quieted the room. “Ladies, congratulations on an amazing game. I just wanted to let you all know some of the changes that will be coming to the league to help boost attendance. First, we are going to be selling war bonds before and after the games so that we can help our boys overseas.” 

This was met with an excited tittering from the team, everyone had someone fighting, and the thought that they could be helping just a little made them all very excited. “We’re also going to be having free nights for our servicemen and women who are on leave. Not to mention, half-priced nights for the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. If we can get the kids to buy into the league, their parents will want to come too.” 

Emma heard Jess whisper, “I was a scout!” to Carrie. 

“And finally, there’s going to be some small promotional events that we will be rolling out.” He started to list them out on his fingers as if he was trying to make sure he got them all. “Catch a foul, get a kiss; meet and greets after games; raffles; and different businesses around town will be offering discounts if you show your game ticket.” He nodded as if to say, ‘and that’s that’ before he looked and motioned at Alyssa. “Miss Greene, would you mind coming to talk to some of the reporters outside? They want to get a few quotes.” 

Alyssa looked surprised for a moment, her mouth open in shock. “Oh! Uh— of course!” She jumped to her feet and followed Mr. Hawkins out of the room. 

— — 

Emma took a calming breath as she tied her cleats. “Let’s see what the damage is today,” she mumbled to herself, thinking about the nearly empty fields that they had been playing to for the last few weeks. Alyssa walked by and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, making butterflies flutter in Emma’s stomach. 

Emma grabbed her glove and followed the brunette out of the locker room and into Beyer Stadium in their hometown of Rockford. She kept her head down as she walked out of the dugout and onto the field, focused on finding a ball to start warming up with. Emma didn’t look up until she heard Alyssa call to her. Her head snapped up, and she saw more people in the stands than all their past games combined. 

The stadium wasn’t full by any means. Still, there was easily over two hundred Rockford locals watching the diamond with reluctant excitement and interest. 

Alyssa threw a look at Emma of surprise that perfectly mirrored what Emma felt inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long! the next chapter is already over 500 words written, so hopefully, it won't take as long as this did. Anywho, thank you so very much for reading. I hope you're staying safe and healthy!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took about a month and a half into the season for Rockford Illinois to feel like home for Emma Nolan. Granted, it was easily four times the size of Edgewater, but it still had that warmth and community that Emma craved.

It took about a month and a half into the season for Rockford Illinois to feel like home for Emma Nolan. Granted, it was easily four times the size of Edgewater, but it still had that warmth and community that Emma craved. 

Her days in Rockford turned into a normal routine of rolling out of bed at the boarding house around nine every morning. She would head downstairs and help herself to biscuits smothered in gravy — a meal specifically made for her after she told Mrs. Willings about how much she missed Betsy’s breakfasts. Emma made a point to read the paper every morning over breakfast while Alyssa would hum something or other to herself, looking unbearably charming with curlers still in her hair. 

Something about it was incredibly domestic and felt right to Emma. She knew that Alyssa felt it too, even though neither of them had ever spoken about it before. 

Emma would help wash up after breakfast, despite Mrs. Willings’s insistence that she didn’t need help, and then she would head upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. She’d track down Shelby and Carrie and see if they had any plans, which usually involved golfing at the club with some members of The Board — the group of local, well-off businessmen who took care of the local financing and advertising for the team for Mr. Harvey and the league. Emma was never one for golf, so she’d wander around town instead, normally finding a small group of kids who always managed to rope her into a game of catch before she’d be seen by Mr. Franklin of the board and was invited to lunch at Edie’s, the local diner that stood as the heart of Rockford. 

Edie was a plump, older woman who always made sure that her Peaches were taken care of. Emma could always count on a free slice of pie and a bottle of coke thanks to Edie. The pies always made me feel just a little homesick for her Gran’s baking, but there was something about it that was immensely comforting. A slowly growing corner of the diner was filled with news clippings about the Peaches. That photo of Alyssa sat in the splits, a smile on her face and that fly ball in her glove, looking at Emma while she ate. 

After lunch came some batting practice with Barry. He always insisted on it even though Emma was already a decent batter. “There’s always room for improvement, your ladyship,” he’d tease, taking off his hat into a sweeping bow. It was his idea to give Emma her new nickname: The Countess of Curves. A name he insisted was purely due to her knack at throwing a damn good curveball — Emma wasn’t thrilled with it, but the press and the fans sure were and, after all, it was their opinions that mattered. 

Emma and Barry would run back to Mrs. Willings’s for a quick dinner where he, Alyssa, Emma, and Angie would talk strategy or shoot the shit before heading to the stadium to get ready for the game. 

Dee Dee would hand out the freshly laundered uniforms while the girls got ready. Barry would give an inspiring speech followed by Dee Dee kindly asking the girls to try not to get hurt in this game, and the Rockford Peaches would take the field. 

Win or lose, it was always an eventful game. The Peaches would find themselves crowded by fans after they left the locker room postgame. 

It was Emma’s new normal, and she loved it.   
— —   
There was a quick knock at Emma and Alyssa’s door followed by some giggles and shushing. Emma sighed and put down her guitar to open the door, finding herself face-to-face with Angie, Kaylee, Shelby, and the rest of the team. They all hustled into the room and quickly made themselves comfortable. 

“Where’s Alyssa?” Kaylee asked, looking around the room for the brunette. 

Emma shrugged, “I think she’s at Edie’s? Someone said something about her meeting with Hawkins. Why?” 

“We wanted to see if y’all wanted to come out with us!” Natalie chirped from the corner. 

“Out? Like to the pictures?” Emma looked at the girls confused as they erupted into laughter. They all did far too dressed up for the movies. 

“No, silly girl,” Angie chided, “there’s a roadhouse a little out of town called the Suds Bucket. I paid Dee Dee off and promised her we wouldn’t get caught. Are you in?” 

Emma looked at her guitar and back at her friends. She hadn’t had time to relax and play in weeks. And in all honesty, the last thing she wanted to do was have to find excuses to get out of dancing with the various servicemen. Plus, if she left the boarding house, she’d have to put on a dress, and Emma was more than happy in her blue jeans. 

She shook her head, trying hard not to notice the way her teammates’ shoulders dropped as she said, “no. I’m sorry, you guys. I think I’d rather just stay in and I’ll wait up for you all.” Emma held her breath as she waited for her team’s response. 

It was a chorus of “If you’re sure” and “As long as you won’t feel left out”, that made Emma let out a sigh of relief. She waved her friends off as they snuck out of the boarding house. 

Emma had just finished tuning her guitar when she heard footsteps making their way up the stairs. There was a small knock at the door and then it opened to show Alyssa Greene looking at Emma with a huge smile on her face that immediately fell when she saw Emma with her guitar in hand. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she looked around the room nervously. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No!” Emma reached her hand out to the brunette, “I’m just messing around. I haven’t had too much time to just play.” 

“I didn’t know you played,” Alyssa said softly as she moved to sit on her bed, facing Emma. 

Emma shrugged, strumming the strings absentmindedly. “My Grandpa taught me. It was the one thing that really made him happy — well, besides Gran, Greg, and me. When he came back from the war he was...different. He was quieter. But no matter what, I could always make him smile when I played…” Emma was so lost in her memories of playing for her grandparents as they spun around the living room that she didn’t notice she trailed off in the middle of her sentence. 

She snapped out of her daze to feel Alyssa’s hand on her knee, giving it a small squeeze. The catcher was kneeling on the floor as she looked up at Emma. Her eyes were full of something that Emma couldn’t quite place, but it was hard for her to ignore the butterflies flapping around her stomach. 

“Hey, where’d you just go?” Alyssa asked softly. 

“Oh— Uh— just... Happy memories, I guess.” She muttered, strumming a melody that she didn’t know. 

Alyssa stared at Emma quietly while she played, eventually moving to sit beside Emma on the bed. They stayed like that for a while, sitting in a comfortable silence as Emma played. 

“Hey,” Alyssa said, turning towards the blonde and leaning in just a hair closer. 

Emma’s head spun from the sheer proximity of the moment. Sure, they had been this close countless times before, but something about this was different — charged. “Yeah?” She managed to breathe out. 

“I—” Alyssa let out a breath and shook her head, her lips pulled into something between a smile and a grimace. 

“Lys, what is it?” Emma moved her hand from the neck of the guitar to rest on Alyssa’s knee. She gave it a small squeeze in reassurance, and Alyssa’s heart leapt into her throat. Locking eyes with Emma, it only took a split second for her to decide what to do.

“Oh, damn it all.” Alyssa surged forward, closing the small distance between them to press her lips against Emma’s. 

It was a shock to the system, but then again, kissing Alyssa Greene was like coming up for breath after being underwater for too long. It was like hitting a home run with the bases loaded and hearing the deafening cheer of the crowd. It was simultaneously the most amazing and most natural thing Emma had ever done...and just like that, it was over, as quickly as it started. Emma pulled back slightly to catch her breath and it took all the strength she had to not rush back in and drown herself in Alyssa Greene. 

A moment later, Emma opened her eyes to Alyssa’s panicked face and shaking voice. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I didn’t mean to. I shouldn’t have—” Alyssa moved to put some space between herself and Emma. 

Emma nearly fell off the bed trying to reach out to pull Alyssa back in. She put the guitar on the bed and grabbed Alyssa’s hand. “Alyssa, you don’t need to apologize.” 

She looked at Emma, completely taken aback, “I— I don’t?” 

Emma put her hands on either side of Alyssa’s face. “No.” She gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind Alyssa’s ear. “In all honesty, I should be thanking you.” 

Panicked brown eyes melted into a look of curiosity and hope. “Why is that?” She whispered. 

“Because I didn’t realize how much I’ve wanted to do that,” Emma said softly with a smile. Her eyes flitted down to Alyssa’s lips, waiting for Alyssa to close the distance again. 

They stayed like that, kissing and saying nothing and everything. It was as if no matter how long they kissed, it would never be enough. Hours felt like seconds, and they quickly lost track of time. 

The unmistakable sound of shoes scuffling up the stairs finally tore them apart. Emma looked at the clock on the side table — it was one a.m.. Even though her heart was racing at the thought of being found out, the sight of Alyssa looking down from above her was enough to quell her anxieties. 

“Well,” the catcher said. “We better—” 

Emma cleared her throat and began to slowly sit up, watching Alyssa swing her leg over her so she was no longer on top of Emma. “Yeah, I guess so.” Emma mumbled, trying hard to hide her disappointment. 

“Hey,” Alyssa gave her a quick peck. “I’m going to go shower. Just so, you know… no one suspects anything.” 

Emma’s stomach dropped, but Alyssa was already out of the room with her towel and robe before she could say anything. 

Emma got into her PJs and was about to turn out the light when she heard a small knock at the door. “Uh— come in?” 

Kaylee poked her head into the room and quickly jumped onto Emma’s bed. “Emma,” she loudly whispered. Emma could smell the waves of alcohol radiating off of her. “Emma I have to ask you a question.” 

Emma tried to swallow her smile — Kaylee was never good at holding her liquor. “What’s going on?”   
“How did you know that you liked Alyssa?” Kaylee was looking at Emma with big eyes. 

Emma’s heart dropped to her stomach — how did Kaylee know? She pushed her anxiety down and tried to play it off as casually as possible, “What do you mean? She’s my friend, you have to like your friends or else, what’s the point of them being your friend?” 

Kaylee rolled her eyes and huffed. “Nooooo, I mean, how did you know you liked Alyssa romantically?” 

“Uh— I don — I — What makes you think that?” Emma stuttered. 

Kaylee laid on her back, craning her neck to look at Emma, “I see the way you two look at each other, and just— ugh why is this so hard?” 

“Why’s what so hard?” 

Kaylee turned onto her stomach, burying her face into the mattress, “I think I like Shelby.” 

Emma was at a loss for words. “Oh.” 

“She’s just always there and she’s funny and she’s so so pretty. Not to mention she always gets into this little ready position where she bends at the waist and then I’m just stuck in the outfield staring at her in those goddamn red shorts. And I was watching her dance around with all those soldiers and I couldn’t help but get jealous and I didn’t know why until it sort of just dawned on me—” 

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s fine. It’s okay. Kaylee, I promise it’s okay.” Emma gave her a few uncertain pats on the back that she hoped were comforting in some way. “But, what about your boy overseas?” 

Kaylee lifted her head up from the bed with misty eyes. “I got a letter from his parents a few weeks ago. We were in Racine,” she sniffled. “They said his plane was shot down over France. They haven’t been able to recover the body of him or his gunner.” 

“Oh god,” Emma opened her arms up to Kaylee who quickly shuffled to be held by the blonde. “Kaylee, I’m so sorry.” 

She sniffled again, “it’s okay. Nick knew what he was signing up for when he enlisted. And, I mean, no body means he may still be out there, right?” 

Emma pulled the smaller girl in tighter, “yeah, you never know.” 

“Can I sleep here? I just don’t think I can be in the room with Shelby right now.” Kaylee’s voice was quiet. 

Emma glanced at the door, trying to think how she’d explain this to Alyssa. When she looked back at Kaylee, she was already fast asleep “I guess so…” Emma sighed. 

A few minutes later, Alyssa opened the door to see Emma holding a fully dressed, snoring Kaylee Klien. 

“She’s drunk,” Emma mouthed and Alyssa gave a knowing nod. 

Alyssa moved to turn the lamp off and pressed a quick kiss to Emma’s forehead. “Night, Emma.” She whispered. 

“Night, Alyssa.” 

Emma fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the intro to this chapter is inspired by real-life accounts of what life was like for the women of the All American Girl's Baseball League — from boards to the small towns rallying around their teams. Sorry this one took so long to get out. And a huge thank you to Drift for editing this for me because I'm a piece of shit who normally doesn't edit before I post.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Annnnnd here we are at the bottom of the fourth. Peaches are up by two and at-bat is The Queen of Diamonds herself, number 4, Alyssa Greene.” The White Socks’ announcer got quiet as the pitch was released and was sent hurtling towards the left foul line.

“Annnnnd here we are at the bottom of the fourth. Peaches are up by two and at-bat is The Queen of Diamonds herself, number 4, Alyssa Greene.” The White Socks’ announcer got quiet as the pitch was released and was sent hurtling towards the left foul line. 

Everyone in the stands jumped to their feet and rushed towards the ball. Emma watched with bated breath as a young man in a Navy uniform caught the ball with a grin. Her stomach turned sour when Alyssa pulled on his ascot and brought him in for a kiss. 

The crowd fell into a frenzy as he pulled her in for another kiss. 

And another one. 

And another one. 

He didn’t stop kissing her until the announcer’s voice boomed out from the speakers “save some for the rest of us!” 

Emma felt Kaylee’s hand on her knee, but she just looked down at the floor. The last thing she wanted was to watch Alyssa run back to the dugout — back to her — with her red lipstick smeared and her cheeks flushed. 

“Remember gents: catch a foul, get a kiss.” The announcer laughed into the microphone. “No promises you’ll get a smacker like that one, but never hurts to try! Anyways, back to the game. We have two runners on base for the Peaches, 3 runs and 1 out. Up next is the Beauty Queen, Angie Dickinson.” 

Dee Dee swooped down on Alyssa who looked stiff and uncomfortable. Alyssa did a good job at putting a smile on for the crowd, but the second her back was to the stands, her smile dropped and she looked at Dee Dee with the glint of fear in her eye as the chaperone fixed her makeup. 

Emma didn’t see any of this though, she was too busy picking at her cleats. She shifted on the bench so her back was to Alyssa when the catcher sat down to put her catching gear back on. Kaylee flashed Emma a sympathetic look that was quickly interrupted when Kaylee noticed Shelby step up to bat.

Emma was off of her game. Every time she looked at Alyssa, she just saw the smug smile of that soldier as he wiped her red lipstick off of his face. They hadn’t really had any time since their first kiss to talk about what they were, but the small moments of stolen kisses and touches here and there was enough to tell Emma that they weren’t nothing. 

Well, that’s what she thought before Alyssa hit that foul ball. Emma kept trying to tell herself that Alyssa had feelings for her and that kiss was just for the league, it didn’t mean anything. But no matter how much she told herself it was nothing, part of her was unsure. What if Emma was just an experiment for Alyssa? What if that kiss made her… normal… made her not like Emma anymore? 

Emma called a time out and didn’t make eye contact with Alyssa who was jogging up to the pitcher’s mound. Instead, Emma walked to the dugout and motioned to talk to a confused looking Barry. 

“What are you doing? You were doing so well and now you’re throwing grapefruits up there!” He said, rubbing his forehead. 

“I can’t finish this game. Can you bring in Winnie for me?” Emma said softly, rubbing her shoulder like she was nursing a sore muscle. Barry gave her a nod and Winnie ran onto the field. 

Emma went into the locker room and pulled her towel out of her locker and pulled off her cleats and socks. She turned on the shower and waited for it to get warm — the one upside of playing the White Socks’ was that they never seemed to run out of hot water. 

She shrugged off her uniform and stepped into the shower. She stood there, letting the water wash away all the dirt and grime. She stood there until she heard the roar of the crowd and thunderous footsteps above her in the stands. Emma turned the water off and grabbed her towel. 

She was dressed and ready for the bus by the time the team entered the locker room. By the smiles and laughter, Emma figured they won the game — not that it really mattered much. The Peaches were on a winning streak and they were practically guaranteed a spot in the championship. 

Emma made eye contact with Alyssa for a second, quickly looking away. She instead made herself busy packing up her locker, checking, and refolding her clothes. Her teammates chattered around the room as they showered and packed. 

One by one, they filed out of the room, and onto the bus, they had a long drive ahead of them back to Rockford. Alyssa stayed back, she normally was one of the last ones to leave the locker room. 

Kaylee threw a look over her shoulder to Emma before she shut the door, leaving Emma and Alyssa alone. 

“Emma, I—” Alyssa started. 

“Looked like one hell of a kiss,” Emma said bitterly. 

Alyssa looked like Emma had just dumped cold water on her. “Emma. That’s the deal. That’s what the league has us do. ‘Catch a foul, get a kiss’ I—”

“Did you want to kiss him?” Emma’s voice was small. She was afraid to know the answer, but she had to know. 

“Emma, you’re the only person I want to kiss. Not him. Not anyone else in this world. I want you.” Alyssa grabbed Emma’s hand and spun her around to face her. 

“I’m so sorry. I— I was worried that you would kiss him and realize you’re… normal. That you didn’t have to settle for whatever this,” she gestured between them, “is. I just got scared I was going to lose you.” 

“Emma, you know what we are.” 

“Do I?” Emma asked. “Because we haven’t talked about it. All we’ve done is kissed a few times when no one is looking. Alyssa, that night you kissed me was weeks ago. The season is over half over, and I can’t keep going with this if I don’t even know what it is.” 

Alyssa looked dumbfounded for a second as she processed what Emma said. “I— I don’t entirely know. But, Emma, I like you. A lot. And I don’t know what our future is going to hold, but you make me happy and I feel safe when I’m with you. While I don’t know exactly how I can, I want to make you as happy as you make me.” 

Emma pressed a kiss onto the back of Alyssa’s hand, “I would love that.” 

“Yeah?” Alyssa gave a breathy laugh. 

“Yeah,” Emma leaned in closer to Alyssa, smiling when Alyssa closed the distance and kissed her. 

They were so distracted by each other that neither girl heard footsteps heading towards the locker room. 

“Girls, we gotta get on the—” Barry called out as he burst into the room. “Oh.” 

Emma and Alyssa jumped away from each other as if they were burned. “Barry! Emma was just checking out a bump on my head that I got from the mask.” Alyssa said hurriedly. 

Barry looked between the two girls and sighed, closing the door. “You two are fine. I won’t tell anyone about this because I’d be one hell of a hypocrite if I did. Just— try and be more careful. They’ll kick you two out of the league if the wrong people find out.” 

Both Emma and Alyssa looked at him dumbstruck. 

“I’m going to give you two a few more minutes to finish checking out that bump on Alyssa’s head, then we have to get on the bus if we’re going to make it back home by a decent time.” He said with a nod before leaving the locker room. 

“What was that?” Emma whispered to herself. 

“I don’t know, but I think Barry is—” 

“I mean, he did work on films for the past few years, and, I mean, you always hear the crazy things that the stars do.” The blonde said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Let’s get on the bus, we can talk about this all more once we’re home.”

Alyssa walked towards Emma, closing the distance between them once again and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Or, I can show you just how much you’re the only person I want to kiss.” She whispered against Emma’s lips, sending a shiver down the pitcher’s spine. 

“Yeah,” Emma squeaked. “That works too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry y'all, had to get a little angst in this one. I hope everyone's staying safe and healthy, especially with the protests happening across the US. #BlackLivesMatter and they ALWAYS have. 
> 
> Love y'all


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next few weeks were pure bliss. Emma and Alyssa had sneaking around down to an art form — this also meant they were more in-tune on the field than ever before. 
> 
> It didn't go unnoticed by Barry and Kaylee. However, Emma and Alyssa never caught the knowing looks the two would shoot each other. Each time that Emma would clap too enthusiastically when Alyssa hit a double, or when Alyssa watched Emma whenever she entered a room, it was like they were the only two people in the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of death, some sexual content (nothing too spicy), overall angst

The next few weeks were pure bliss. Emma and Alyssa had sneaking around down to an art form — this also meant they were more in-tune on the field than ever before. 

It didn't go unnoticed by Barry and Kaylee. However, Emma and Alyssa never caught the knowing looks the two would shoot each other. Each time that Emma would clap too enthusiastically when Alyssa hit a double, or when Alyssa watched Emma whenever she entered a room, it was like they were the only two people in the world. 

"Remarkable! This was Emma Nolan's thirteenth perfect game _in a row!_ " The announcer was yelling into the mic to be heard over the roaring Rockford fans. "They call her the Countess of Curves for a reason, folks! No one has been able to hit that curveball." 

Emma rolled her eyes at the nickname. But every ounce of annoyance melted away when she saw Alyssa running towards her with a grin. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion — nothing else mattered at that moment than Alyssa Greene looking at her like that. 

She crashed into Emma, tackling her to the ground. "I swear to god, Em." Alyssa breathed in her ear, causing Emma's arms to break out in goosebumps. "If you keep pitching like this I'm gonna—" 

Alyssa's words were cut off with a squeal as she was pulled off of Emma and twirled around by a celebrating Carrie. Emma was pulled to her feet and directly into the arms of Angie. The mood of the girls all pointed to the same thought — one more win, and they'd be in the championships. 

Most of the Peaches descended to the locker rooms for a quick shower before they walked to the boarding house. Emma hung back, mumbling something to Kaylee about wanting to talk to the kids who were already huddled around Alyssa. 

"So, how'd you all like the game?" Alyssa asked as Emma walked towards the group. The girls all burst into excited chatter around Alyssa. Emma had to keep down a smile at the sight of her girlfriend, trying her hardest to make sure each girl felt heard and valued at the same time. 

"Well, what do we have here, Alyssa?" Emma said in a curious tone. The already excited group of kids whipped into a tizzy when they saw Emma walking up. 

Alyssa turned around to give Emma the most dazzling smile she had ever seen. Emma had to take a small breath to try and calm her racing heart at sight. "I think these ballplayers may be our replacements for next season." 

"Oh!" Emma took off her hat and wiped her forehead, trying her hardest to act surprised. "If that's the case, then we should see if they have what it takes to be a Peach, huh?" Emma couldn't help but smile at the way the girls' faces lit up. 

"I couldn't agree more. How does some batting practice sound?" Alyssa had a twinkle in her eyes that made Emma weak in the knees. 

The girls jumped up and down at the thought, however, Emma noticed a group of adults by the stands watching them. "First, I think you all better ask your parents if it's okay." 

The kids rushed the adults, and Emma heard a few pleas. 

"Hope you're not too tired, Nolan." Alyssa teased as they walked to the dugout to try and find the lightest bats they could. 

"Please," Emma scoffed, bumping Alyssa's shoulder with her own. "I could keep going all night." 

Alyssa dropped her voice low. "Good, because I was hoping we could celebrate how well you've been playing lately." 

Emma's face turned a violent shade of red. "I—Uh—Wha—Yeah. Yeah. I'm ready to finally celebrate." Emma stammered, hoping she was reading the situation correctly. 

"You are?" She asked softly as if Emma just told her a secret. 

Emma nodded and put her hand on Alyssa's. "I am. Are you?" 

"I am." The way Alyssa looked at Emma was new and wonderful. No one had ever looked at Emma this way before. 

They jumped away from each other when they heard the signature clicking of Dee Dee's heels on the tile. 

"Emma, Alyssa." Dee Dee sounded exhausted, but to her credit, she didn't look it. "Why are you still out here? Curfew starts an hour after the game, you know this." 

"We were talking with some fans, and we wanted to do something special for the girls." Alyssa gestured to the herd of girls watching them from home base. 

"I promise we won't be out too long," Emma pleaded. She couldn't help but feel nostalgic for those summer nights when she and Greg would beg Gran for just a few extra hours to play before bedtime. 

Dee Dee looked at both Emma and Alyssa and then to the girls. "Fine, but not too late. It's been a long day, and I want to be able to get some sleep tonight." 

Alyssa gave a small salute, "yes, ma'am." 

"Thank you, Dee Dee," Emma said earnestly, shouldering the bats in her hand. 

She and Alyssa headed back towards home base. "So, who wants to go first?" Alyssa asked, pulling on her catcher's mask. 

There was a flurry of hands in the air as Emma walked halfway to the pitcher's mound. She turned to see a very determined girl up at bat who looked like she was more freckle than she was human. Emma gave a big, dramatic windup, but threw a slower ball than she was used to pitching, straight down the plate. 

_WHACK_

— —

They had been playing with the kids for an hour when the parents came up and told the girls it was time for bed. The mention of bed flashed Emma back to the conversation she and Alyssa had earlier. One look at Alyssa, and she knew from the look in her eye that she was thinking the same thing. 

They quickly rinsed off in the locker room showers and changed back into their street clothes and headed out of the stadium. 

Alyssa and Emma sped walked back to the boarding house. Emma could feel the charged energy between them every time their knuckles brushed. She wanted nothing more than to grab Alyssa's hand and run home, but that was too dangerous — even this late at night, they never knew who was watching, and there was always too much at stake. 

They made it to the boarding house and gave a small apologetic wave to Dee Dee, who was sitting in the front room with rollers in her hair. The two slipped upstairs and into their shared room, relishing in the sound of the door clicking shut. 

Emma and Alyssa stood there, not breathing and listening for any sign that anyone else was awake. A moment passed. There was the click of Dee Dee's door closing downstairs. Another few tense seconds of pure silence and both women let out a breath of relief. 

Alyssa took a step towards Emma with a sparkle in her eye. Emma took a step towards Alyssa, trying hard to swallow down the cocktail of nerves and excitement brewing in her chest. 

All of a sudden, there were lips against lips, and Alyssa's hands tangled in Emma's hair. Emma kept her hands safely planted on Alyssa's waist, trying hard to focus on her breathing. This proved difficult when Alyssa pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. 

Emma used what little courage she had in her and walked the two of them to her bed. Alyssa fell back and pulled Emma on top of her. 

"Are you still okay with this?" Alyssa asked softly. Her eyes searched Emma's face for any sign of discomfort. 

"Yeah. Ar—are you still okay?" 

Alyssa pulled Emma in for a smoldering kiss. "I'm more than okay." She managed to flip them, so she was straddling Emma.

Shaky hands moved to the front of Alyssa's shirt. Emma unbuttoned the blouse as Alyssa ran her lips up the column of Emma's neck. Alyssa shrugged the shirt off, letting it fall to the floor. 

Emma had seen Alyssa far more naked than this countless times, but that was in the locker room, surrounded by their teammates. But this time, no one else was around. There was no game to worry about. It was just the two of them — and that was all that mattered. 

She wrapped her arms around Alyssa's bare waist, relishing in the feeling of electricity the second she touched Alyssa. However, it wasn't enough. Both her and Alyssa's hands hit as they went for Emma's shirt buttons.

They had to stifle back laughter as Alyssa deftly unbuttoned and pushed off Emma's shirt. "Whoa," she breathed in astonishment. Alyssa's eyes were big as she looked at Emma's bare torso. 

Emma felt a blush building on her cheeks at the way Alyssa was looking at her. "I— Lys, can we turn the lights off?" 

Alyssa looked at her, confused for a second until she registered the blush on Emma's face. "Yeah, of course, we can." She reached over to the night table and switched the lamp off. 

"Hey, Alyssa?" Emma whispered, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. 

"Yeah?" Alyssa crawled back to her place on top of Emma. 

"I—" The words Emma wanted to say got stuck in her throat, "I'm really glad we're doing this." 

"Me too, Emma." 

— — 

Emma woke up with the sun streaming through the curtains, and Alyssa Greene snuggled in her arms. 

"Morning." Her voice was gravely but content as she stretched out her legs and nestled deeper into Emma's arms. "How are you feeling?" 

Emma paused for a minute as she tried to find the word. "I feel...right." She pressed a kiss onto the top of Alyssa's head. "I'm really glad I found you." 

Alyssa turned in Emma's arms, so she was lying on top of her. "It's funny," she said, eyes gleaming with something that Emma could only hope was as deep as everything Emma was feeling at that moment. "I wasn't looking for anything, but then you came along, and my entire life completely changed. You're astonishing, Emma Nolan." 

"Alyssa, I—" 

There was a knock on the door that froze them both. Emma could feel Alyssa's heart rate pick up on top of her. 

"Emma?" There was another knock at the door. 

Emma jumped out of bed like she was electrocuted and pulled on a robe. "One minut— wait. Gran?" 

Betsy Nolan's voice came again from the other side of the door. "Emma Jean Nolan, are you going to open this door and give me a hug, or am I going to have to wait another two months?" 

Emma threw a glance over her shoulder at Alyssa, who nearly fell out of bed and began to pull her hair into a more presentable form. "Uh— give me a minute, Gran. I got a late start, and I need to finish getting ready. I'll meet you down for breakfast, okay?" 

Emma heard a familiar grumble and the shuffling of feet as Betsy walked down the stairs. Emma whipped around to look at Alyssa, who was rushing to pull on her pants. Alyssa had never looked more beautiful standing there in a bra and pair of jeans. She had a glow about her that Emma had never seen before, but it matched precisely how she felt inside. 

"So, your Gran is here," Alyssa said plainly as she buttoned up her shirt. 

"Yeah," Emma was still shocked at the realization. "God, that means that Greg's probably here too." 

Alyssa sauntered towards Emma with a smirk. "Your grandmother and cousin are here, and we— well, we had a good night." 

Emma couldn't help but smile at the memory. "A very good night." She leaned forward and pulled Alyssa in by the lapels to kiss her. 

After a few heated seconds, Alyssa pulled back. "And as much as I'd love to have a repeat, you're currently not wearing a stitch and your family who you haven't seen in months are waiting downstairs, most likely talking to Angie—" 

"Oh, god. Oh, no." Emma's eyes got big, and she nearly fell rushing towards the wardrobe to find something to wear. "Oh god, who knows what she's saying to her. What if she tells her about that time she got us all drunk, and then we smoked those funny cigarettes?" 

"Emma," Alyssa's voice was calm, although it had a twinge of a smile in it. "I'll go downstairs and dazzle your family. Plus, someone's gotta make sure Angie's not saying anything too salacious over coffee. You can just focus on getting yourself together and show your Gran and Greg around Rockford. Okay?" 

Emma let out a breath of relief. It never failed to amaze her the kind of calming effect Alyssa had on her. "Thank you." 

"You can thank me later." Alyssa said with a wink, slipping out the door before adding in a whisper, "Maybe with that thing you did last night with your tongue." 

— — 

"So that's Rockford!" Emma said with a shrug, opening the door to Edie's, where she was greeted with a big hello from Jim behind the counter. 

"Well, it's a very nice town, I can see why you like it so much," Betsy said, leading her grandkids to the corner booth in the back. "So tonight is the big game, huh?" 

Emma shook her head with a smile, "Gran, they're all big games." 

"Don't give me that. You know what I mean." Her tone was playfully reprimanding. 

"Yeah. If we win tonight, we're in the championships." She glanced over the menu before handing it over to Greg, who was engrossed in trying to figure out what to order. 

"Any idea who you'll be up against?" Betsy waved down Edie, who gave a _one minute_ gesture and a wink. 

Emma looked at the different headlines tacked to the walls. "Numbers and Barry are saying Racine, which would be fun. Their pitcher — Betty — she's got an arm but also a helluva temper, which means you never know if she's aiming for the catcher's mitt, the umpire, or your head." 

"Sounds dangerous," Greg mumbled, still reading the menu. 

Emma laughed at the thought, "I'm expected to slide on a mix of sand and gravel in a skirt — a rogue pitcher is nothing." 

"Well, enough about that. How is it with your teammates? I got to meet the majority of them over breakfast, including that darling catcher. What was her name again?" Betsy's words trailed off as she tried to remember.

"Alyssa. Alyssa Greene," Emma said softly. 

"Speak of her, and she shall appear," Emma heard Alyssa say as she walked up to the booth with a grin. 

"Lys, what are you doing here?" 

"Well, Edie's is the only diner within walking distance of home, and I was hoping to pick up a quick lunch before I took a nap." She had a mischievous sparkle in her eye that could only mean trouble for Emma. "I hardly slept a wink last night." 

Betsy perked up at that. "I'm sorry to hear that, Alyssa. Was there something that kept you up?" 

Emma shot a warning glance at her girlfriend that was met with a smirk. "You could say that, Mrs. Nolan—" 

"Please, call me Betsy." Betsy put her hand on top of Alyssa's in a comforting way that defied formality. 

"Yes, ma'am. I like going over the game from that day, in my head, when I'm nervous or excited. Then all I could think about was a few different plays that Emma and I could do, and I just got so excited." 

This pulled Greg's attention away from the menu. "Anything we'll see at the game tonight?" 

Alyssa shook her head. "No. I think Emma and I need a little more private practice before anything sees the light of day." She was clearly making it a game to see how red in the face she could get Emma through a seemingly innocent conversation. 

Thankfully for Emma, there was a ding at the counter, and Alyssa's order was ready to go. "Anyways, I should get that. How about I take you all out for ice cream tonight after the game? My treat." 

"We would love that," Betsy said with a smile and a wave as Alyssa left the diner. "What a nice young lady. I can see why you like her so much." 

"I— Uh—" Emma stammered. She thought they were so careful, but if Betsy could figure them out after one conversation, then anyone could. _Did the league already know?_

"You've written a lot about her in your letters," Betsy said casually. If she knew anything, she wasn't showing it. 

"Yeah," Greg elbowed Emma. "You kept saying how Alyssa's the 'best catcher you've ever played with' like we haven't been playing together for years." 

"No, she is the best catcher I've ever played with," Emma said plainly, which made Betsy laugh. 

— — 

Emma busied herself with getting dressed so she wouldn't be tempted to stare at Alyssa as she slowly rolled her stocking down her leg. 

"So I said to him," Angie was in the middle of one of her famous stories from back in her pageant days. "'Sir, I don't know what to tell you, these aren't stilts." She flashed her leg and was met with a wave of laughter. 

The laughter got very quiet when there was a knock at the door. Barry would always announce himself before knocking, and Dee Dee would typically slip into the room — but this was four assertive knocks on the tinted glass of the door. 

A young man in a telegram messenger hat walked into the room with a solemn face, bringing the peaches to silence. "I have a message." His voice was shaky as he looked down at his clipboard to see just who the telegram was for. 

Alyssa immediately tensed to the left of Emma, Kaylee did the same to the right. Almost everyone in the locker room had someone fighting overseas. Kaylee had Nick. Shelby's best friend, Kevin, was in France the last time she heard anything. Angie's cousins were Navy sailors. Jess's brothers were fighter pilots. Carrie's sister was a radio operator serving in England. 

"Damn it, I just had it." The messenger was clearly flustered at being in a room of half-naked women, but everyone was far too worried to move to cover up. "Alyssa Greene?" 

Alyssa stood up and reached for the telegram. The entire room held their breath as they watched her open the envelope, read the first sentence, and fall to the ground. 

Emma and Kaylee rushed to Alyssa, trying to comfort her, while the rest of the team looked on. Carrie slipped out of the room, and suddenly, Dee Dee and Barry rushed into the room with tears in their eyes. 

Emma was focused on trying to help Alyssa, but she couldn't help but read the short telegram. 

_Miss Alyssa Greene._

_The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regrets that your father, General Simon Greene, was killed in action on July 16th in Italy._

The tense silence was ripped apart by a guttural cry from Alyssa as sobs crashed over her body in waves. 

Emma scooped Alyssa up into her arms, wishing she could find a way to comfort her. All she wanted to do was to show Alyssa just how loved she was, but everyone was watching them, and she couldn't bring herself to risk it. 

Her heart shattered as Alyssa pushed out of her arms and shot her a look before walking out of the room. She was followed closely behind by Dee Dee and Barry. 

The door closed, and Emma heard sniffles all around her, but she was frozen on the ground. Her head was reeling at everything that just happened, but she had a game that her family traveled hours to see her play. She swallowed the sour taste of anxiety and hurt down and finished putting on her uniform. 

Barry didn't come in for his usual pre-game pep talk, so the peaches took the field to warm up without their manager or catcher. 

Hayden was brought in from the outfield to be catcher while Emma warmed up, something that the crowd caught onto. She could hear the murmurs of Alyssa's name throughout the stands but drowned it all out to focus on her warm-up. 

There was the announcement for the national anthem, and Emma jogged to her regular spot in the front of the "V for Victory" formation and pulled off her hat. There was an uproar from the fans, and Emma turned to see Alyssa and Barry jogging onto the field and into formation. 

Alyssa's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but she had a fresh face of makeup on, and a dazzling smile that only Emma could see was forced. Alyssa didn't look at Emma; instead, she kept her eyes focused on the flag. 

Betsy Nolan's voice carried over the crowd as she sang along to the national anthem, giving Emma small comfort in her inner whirlwind. The song ended with applause like it always did, and Emma ran to the pitcher's mound. 

"And with that beautiful tribute to our boys overseas, here's number 34, Emma Nolan with the opening pitch," Anthony, the local announcer sounded excited today. 

Clearly, everyone was expecting another perfect game from Emma, but everything felt off. That perfect energy that Emma and Alyssa normally had was shattered, and Emma didn't know what to do. 

"Annnnd, UNBELIEVABLE! Kit McRae hit it! She's headed towards first, and Emma Nolan's perfect streak has been broken!" Emma felt the disappointment from hundreds of fans, and her entire team fall on her from all directions. 

Alyssa didn't make eye contact with her all game. 

— — 

"And with a final score of 6 to 4, the Rockford Peaches will be headed to the first-ever All American Girls Baseball League Championships!" Anthony's words were met with thunderous applause. 

The peaches rushed the pitcher's mound like they always did, but the one person who was always there to hug Emma first wasn't there. Alyssa was already halfway to the dugout by the time Shelby crushed Emma with a hug. Emma tried to push down the uncomfortable swirl of excitement, pride, disappointment, and hurt to be present with her teammates as they headed to the locker room together. 

Alyssa's stuff was gone, and there was no sight of the catcher in the room when Emma walked in. She tried to clear her head while she showered and got ready to see her family for a post-game celebration. 

Sure enough, she walked out towards the front of the stadium, and there were Betsy and Greg with Rockford pennants and huge smiles. 

"There she is!" Betsy was beaming at Emma. 

Greg looked behind Emma expectantly, "where's Alyssa?" 

Emma gave her head a small shake. "Alyssa got some bad news before the game, I think she just went home to sleep." 

Both Betsy and Greg shared a look, but Betsy was quick to reply with a smile that made Emma feel like everything was going to be alright. "Well, how about we still go get some ice cream? We have a long drive home bright and early tomorrow, but I think you've earned something cold and delicious." 

"That sounds nice, Gran," Emma said, trying hard to push everything that had happened to the side so she could enjoy these few hours with her family. 

— — 

Alyssa was fast asleep in her bed by the time Emma crept into the room that night. She looked tiny in that bed, clutching the telegram in her hand. Emma didn't want to wake her up, figuring that sleep was the best thing for Alyssa in the circumstances, so she grabbed her pajamas and knocked on Angie's door. 

Angie opened the door expectantly, "I already made up the empty bed" She said softly, "I figured you'd want to give Alyssa her space." 

"Thanks, Angie," her voice was hollow. "I just don't know how to help her." 

The taller woman pulled Emma into a hug, "I know, honey. But you can't help if you're not well-rested." 

She followed Angie into the room and crawled in between the sheets of the free bed. "Yeah, you're right." 

"I usually am." She gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Night, kiddo." 

"Night, Angie." 

It was a restless night for Emma. She tossed and turned throughout the night. The moments where she did fall asleep gave her dreams of a crushing emptiness that suffocated her. She gave up trying to sleep at dusk. Instead, she grabbed a blanket and moved to her favorite wicker chair on the upstairs porch and watched the sunrise over Rockford. 

The smell of frying bacon carried her downstairs to the dining room. There was already a generous breakfast spread put out by Mrs. Willings, and Barry sitting with the paper and a cup of coffee. 

Not feeling particularly chatty, Emma sat down and grabbed a biscuit and some sausage and tucked into her meal. 

She was halfway through a bowl of berries when Dee Dee walked into the room with Mr. Hawkins. Both of them looked grim, but relaxed when they saw it was only Emma and Barry at the table. 

"Barry, Emma," Mr. Hawkins took his hat off and sat down at the table. "I have some news." 

Emma stayed silent, but Barry put the paper down and leaned forward in his seat. 

"Miss Pickford, the pitcher for Racine," Hawkins was sweating and uncomfortably pulled at his tie. "Well, she is being kicked off the team after an altercation that she had with a few of the Racine fans last night." 

Barry looked uninterested at the news, "and what does this have to do with us?" 

"Well," Hawkins gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Racine will be going to the championships against you. Since they're down a pitcher, and you have multiple girls who can pitch, the league has decided to transfer Emma to be the Belles' new pitcher." 

He turned to look at Emma, "your bus to Racine leaves in half an hour, you should go pack." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! That was double what a normal chapter is and lordy lord. I'm so sorry y'all.   
> Thank you for reading, comments and kudos really really help me with writing just because it's nice to know that someone is reading this.   
> love youuu


	9. Chapter 9

Emma’s entire body went numb, “I— I’m being transferred?” 

“You’re still in the league,” Hawkins used a calm voice which only succeeded in making Emma more anxious. “You’re just going to be a Belle and play with them in the championships.” 

“But I’m not going to be with my team— with my family?” She got choked up at the thought of leaving her friends, and especially Alyssa. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave Alyssa. There was the muffled sound of the front door opening and closing. Hawkins snapped out of her spiral, clearing his throat. 

“Emma, our bus leaves in half an hour. Do you need any help packing? I’m sure Miss Allen could help you out.” He gestured to Dee Dee who smiled although she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Emma shook her head slowly. 

Emma stood up from the table, trying hard not to look at Barry’s face because she knew if she did she would entirely fall apart. “I— I guess I should go pack.” 

Hawkins gave a sad nod, “I’ll be down here; we’ll ride to Racine together.” 

Emma didn’t respond. She walked upstairs in a haze, hoping that Alyssa was awake to tell her what was going on. But, when she threw open the door to their bedroom, Alyssa wasn’t there. 

Swallowing down tears, Emma quickly threw everything into her suitcase, not caring if everything would crease. She saw a pad of paper and a pencil on the desk and nearly ran to write her Alyssa a note. 

_Lys,_

_They transferred me to Racine. I had to leave right away. I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to say goodbye. Please give my love to the girls. I’m sorry. I’ll see you at the championship._

_Always yours,_

_— Em_

She ripped the paper from the pad and put it on Alyssa’s pillow before grabbing her suitcase and leaving the room. 

A few of the Peaches were just starting to wake up, walking out of their rooms, and heading towards the bathroom or kitchen. Emma gave a small smile as she saw Kaylee slip out of Shelby’s room, but kept her head down and moved quickly down the stairs not to cause a scene. 

Mr. Hawkins was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Emma and gently took her suitcase from her. “Are you ready?” 

Emma nodded glumly, giving a quick look over her shoulder where Barry and Dee Dee were watching her sadly. “I guess I’ll see you guys at the championship.” 

Barry’s lower lip was trembling, but he managed to keep his composure. “We’re gonna miss you, Emma.” 

Words failed Emma at that moment. She rushed to hug Barry in the hopes that it could communicate everything she was feeling. It seemed like he understood because he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big squeeze — it was the kind of hug that Emma’s dad used to give to her when she was little — and it broke her. 

They stood like that, with Barry holding his former pitcher, for a few moments. She only pushed away when she felt Hawkins shift awkwardly behind her. She cleared her throat, not making eye contact with Barry. 

“Bye.” Emma hated how hollow and small her voice sounded. She looked at Hawkins and followed him out of the boarding house. 

The walk to the bus stop was quiet. Hawkins kept trying to say something, but Emma just tuned him out, scanning the streets for any sign of Alyssa. 

They made it to the stop where the bus to Racine was idling. Emma climbed on board and found a seat next to a window that she looked out of, searching for even a glimpse of Alyssa. Hawkins sat across the row from her, busying himself with his newspaper. 

The bus sputtered into motion, and as they were pulling away from Rockford, Emma caught sight of Alyssa Greene sprinting after the bus with the letter in her hand. She stopped when she saw Emma in the window, and Emma could see the tears in her eyes. Alyssa stood on at the corner of the street and blew a kiss to Emma. All Emma could do was try not to cry as she pressed her hand against the window and give a small, sad nod as the brunette slowly disappeared from view. 

She was silent on the bus ride to Racine. Hawkins tried to stir up a lighthearted conversation, but nothing pulled Emma out of her gloom. Nothing until he started talking about the Belles. 

“I think this could be beneficial to you, Emma,” he said matter of factly. “Racine is a solid team, but they don’t have the star power that the Peaches do.” 

Emma pulled herself away from forlornly staring out the window to look at the man. “What do you mean?”

Hawkins turned towards Emma and leaned forward. “Between Alyssa, Angie, Shelby, and yourself, Rockford had more than enough fan favorites to pull a crowd. Racine? Not so much.” He folded the newspaper in his lap, “The biggest draw besides the baseball for Racine was to see what kind of fight Betty would get herself into.” 

“And now she’s gone,” Emma mumbled to herself as she tried to find some silver lining for her transfer. 

“And now she’s gone,” Hawkins echoed. “This means that the fans will be coming to cheer on Racine to see The Countess of Curves. You’ve had a better pitching season than we could have ever expected for a first season. You’re really something special, Emma.” 

She felt those little starbursts of pride explode in her chest, but they quickly fizzled out. Deep down, Emma knew that she was only a good pitcher if Alyssa was there at the end of her throw. She didn’t know how to say that aloud so that she wouldn’t expose her feelings for Alyssa, so Emma swallowed down the feeling and shrugged. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t a long ride to Racine. It was one that she took multiple times with the team to go play their away games about once a month. She and Hawkins carried her suitcase to a lodging house that was bustling with excited young women who were watching her intently as she was greeted by Racine’s — her — coach. 

He clapped a hand on her shoulder with a grin, “it’s nice to have you onboard, Nolan. Welcome to The Belles.” 

The chaperone burst out of the front door of the house with a flourish, “Miss Nolan! We are very excited to have you here. I bet you have had a very tiring morning. You will be in the single room while we’re here. Will that be alright with you?” 

Emma nodded and tried her hardest to muster up a smile, but it came off more like a grimace. “That’s very kind of you, thank you.” She followed the chaperone upstairs and past a team full of interested faces and questioning eyes. 

She tossed her suitcase on top of her bed and for the first time that day, let herself cry. 

— — 

“Ladies,” the Belle’s coach, Sheldon, stood in the locker room where the girls were busy tying laces and oiling gloves. Emma stood behind him uncomfortably shifting her weight between feet. “I’m sure you all know, but Betty was asked to leave the Belles. So, I’d like to formally introduce our new pitcher from Rockford — Emma Nolan.” 

There was a smattering of half-hearted applause. 

“Nolan,” one girl said, Emma recognized her as the first baseman. “We have an open locker here.” 

Emma put her equipment in the locker and changed into her cleats, waiting for Sheldon to leave. She knew the second he left the room would be buzzing with questions, and sure enough, she was right. The door closed behind him and Emma was bombarded. 

“Who gave you the nickname?” 

“Why’d they choose you?” 

“You’re not going to screw us over in the championships, right?” 

“How’d they tell you?”

Emma sat on the bench and answered all their questions the best she could. There was a knock at the door and the Belles jumped to their feet from their respective places on the benches and floor where they sat listening to their new teammate and headed to the field. 

Baseball with the Belles was different. Good. But different. 

Emma didn’t have the same connection that she had with Jess on second base, and no one could ever replace the magic that she had with Alyssa. Looking at home base and not seeing Alyssa behind it made Emma’s heart ache. But the baseball was good and began to be a salve for her broken heart. 

They ended practice and Emma heard a slow clap echo around the stadium. The rest of the Belles filed into the locker room, and Emma was left with her one-person audience. 

“From a Peach to a Belle.” The voice rang out, “I told you that you were special.” 

Out from the shadows came a familiar face. 

“Trent! What are you doing here?” Emma scaled the short wall up to the stands and hugged her recruiter. 

He picked her up and spun her around, losing his hat in the process. “I heard the news and was in the neighborhood. Thought you could use a friendly face.” 

Trent put Emma down and she picked up his hat for him, “you have no idea. They just sprung it on me and now I can’t even talk to my old team.” 

“You know their rules, it doesn’t make the most sense in the world, but that’s just how it is.” He picked a broken piece of peanut shell off of his hat. “If you’d like, I’m headed to Rockford next to talk to Barry about a few things. I would be happy to hand-deliver a few letters for you.” 

Emma let out a breath of relief, “Trent, you have no idea how much that means to me.” 

“Of course, can’t let my star recruit go into the championships with a cloudy head! How would that make me look?” He nudged her with his elbow, a twinkle in his eye. “Would you like to get some dinner? My treat.” 

“I’d love that. Give me a bit to get cleaned up?” 

Trent made a dramatic sweeping gesture towards the locker room. “How about I come by and pick you up from the boarding house in an hour? You can bring those letters?” 

“Perfect,” Emma took off in a jog towards the locker room to quickly rise off before she went to her room back at the boarding house to change. 

Emma sat at her small desk staring down a blank sheet of paper, willing for it to be filled with the emotion that she felt inside. She took a deep breath and shook out her hands, grabbed the pen and wrote. 

— — 

_Kayles,_

_I wish I got the chance to say goodbye, but everything went so fast. I miss you already and your dance lessons late at night when we can’t sleep._

_Kaylee, you should follow your heart. Even though things are in the air, I couldn’t be happier that I followed mine. Life’s too short to not be happy, and you deserve all the happiness in the world._

_I’ll see you in Chicago,_

_Emma._

_— —_

Emma folded and slipped Kaylee’s letter into an envelope. She just hoped that Kaylee knew what she was talking about. 

_Angie,_

_Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who lives life to the fullest like you do. No matter what happens, please know I owe so much of my confidence to you, and I love you so much._

_Please keep an eye on Alyssa for me. With everything that’s happened in the last day, I’m worried about her._

_Keep the girls smiling, and don’t let them work too hard. Although knowing you, I figure this won’t be an issue. You’ve probably already picked out and are chilling the bottle of champagne for the final game._

_— Emma._

_— —_

Letters were stuffed in envelopes and addressed to their intended reader. Emma had an impressive pile of paper on her desk but pushed them aside to focus on the most important one. 

_Alyssa,_

_Baseball doesn’t feel the same without you. I take that back — nothing feels the same without you. It’s like all the magic has just been sucked out of my life, and I miss it. I miss you._

_A letter is not going to be able to say everything that I want to, but I think you know that._

_I didn’t think that yesterday was our last game together. I didn’t think that yesterday was our last day together. I would have said everything that I feel, but time is never on our side._

_I could write novels to you. Hell, I could write novels about you. But, some things are better said in person._

_I’ll see you in a few weeks and hopefully, we can say these things._

_Forever yours,_

_Emma._

_— —_

There was a small knock at her bedroom door as Emma stuffed Alyssa’s letter into its envelope. 

Connie, the third baseman, peeked her head into the room nervously. “Emma? There’s a man waiting for you in the foyer.” 

Emma swiped under her eyes, stuffed her letters into her purse, and followed Connie down the stairs where Trent was waiting for her with a smile. 

“Ready?” He asked, presenting his arm like she was a debutante and not a ballplayer. 

“Lead the way,” Emma said with a small laugh, and for the first time since she had gotten to Racine, she was truly happy, even if it was for an evening. 


	10. Chapter 10

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first-ever All American Girls Baseball Championship here at Wrigley Field! Please put your hands together for our two teams, the Rockford Peaches and the Racine Belles.”

Emma stood behind the door that led into the dugout. The rest of the Belles were tittering behind her with excited and nervous energy. 

The crowd roared and applauded as the announcer called out the names of the Peaches. “And last but certainly not least. The Queen of Diamonds herself, Alyssa Greene!” The sound coming from the fans was almost deafening as Alyssa ran to her place on the field for the national anthem. 

Hannah, the second baseman, was excitedly drumming on Emma’s shoulders as the crowd’s applause died down. There was a collective deep breath in the small hallway packed with Belles. 

“Annnnnd now, please put your hands together for the Racine Belles!” The announcer’s voice was quickly drowned out by the fans once more. Emma opened the door and stood to the side as her teammates were called onto the field. 

“Am I reading this right? The Countess of Curves, Emma Nolan, is the new pitcher for the Belles!”

Emma took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, and ran onto the field.

She had never seen a crowd this big. Wrigley field was about ready to burst at the seams of people who had traveled hundreds of miles to watch them play.

Emma couldn’t help but get chills, and it took one look at her teammates — both former and current — to know that the feeling was mutual. 

She and Alyssa caught each other’s eyes for a brief, but beautiful, second where everything around them melted away. However, they crashed back down to earth at the first notes of the national anthem blaring out from the band behind first base. 

Emma scrambled to get her hat off and held it over her heart, singing along loudly. 

The first out of seven games went to the Peaches. Emma was shaky and was getting used to the brighter lights, bigger crowd, and seeing Alyssa in front of home plate instead of behind it. Natalie took over pitching for Rockford, which was good for Emma because she taught Natalie her technique and was able to get on base every time she was up at-bat. 

Running toward Alyssa at home base felt like a homecoming. But the steely resolve and focus on the catcher’s face never failed to remind Emma that they weren’t on the same side anymore. If it was a homecoming, it was bittersweet. 

Game Two was a victory for the Belles. After an entire season on the Peaches, Emma knew exactly where their weak spots were. It was the first game all season that Shelby didn’t manage to hit the ball because Emma only threw her high balls. Shelby could never seem to resist a high ball, even if she could never manage to hit them. 

Emma only faltered once all game. It was when Alyssa walked up to bat with a scowl on her face. The brunette refused to look Emma in the eye; instead, she focused on the ball in Emma’s hand. Emma had never seen Alyssa this angry before, and as she drew back to throw, the ball shifted in her hand and ended up being more of a toss than a pitch towards home base. Alyssa sent it over the back wall with ease, much to Sheldon and the other Belles’ chagrin. 

Games Three and Four were Peaches victories. 

This was partially thanks to Alyssa’s whispered comments and jokes to Emma whenever she was up at bat. Emma almost dropped her bat after hearing a whispered “nice legs,” followed by a wink when she got ready for the pitch. 

The teams were tied going into the fifth and final game of the championship. The Belles were practically bursting at the seams with excitement in the locker room. The glittering promise of being the league’s first-ever champions was within grasp — and the $50 bonus that came with winning wasn’t too bad either. 

There was a quick rap at the door before Sheldon walked into the locker room, his eyes on the floor like usual, just in case any of the girls weren’t done changing. 

“You’re good, Sheldon!” Hannah called from her place on the bench as she laced up her cleats. 

Sheldon’s head shot up with a smile, “I have a good feeling about tonight, girls!”

The room erupted in applause and whoops from the Belles. 

Sheldon put up a hand to try and calm the team down. “We just have to play like we did earlier this week, and I know we can.” He glanced at Emma, “we just have to keep our heads down and not get distracted. Just focus on the game.” 

Emma gave a small, embarrassed nod before checking her mitt for the third time in the past hour. 

“Alright!” Sheldon clapped, “let’s show them what we’ve got!” 

He led the team onto the field to thunderous applause. The energy in the stadium was palpable. It was a mix of excitement, fear, and ego. The stands were a bright mix of the Peaches’ red and pink and the Belles’ gold and brown. 

It was a swirling cacophony of lights, sounds, and colors, and it filled Emma with immense pride. She had officially made it. 

The National Anthem was sung at a deafening volume, and Emma jogged to her place on the pitcher’s mound as the applause and cheering ramped back up. Shelby strolled up to the plate with a wave and a wink to the crowd — Emma didn’t even have to look at the Peaches’ dugout to know that Kaylee was watching Shelby with that goofy smile that she only got when it came to Shelby. 

Pitch one: a little on the high side. Swing. Strike. 

Pitch two: curved to the left. Swing. Hit.

Shelby sprinted to first base and made it by the fraction of a second. Emma caught the ball that was tossed back to her and watched as Carrie came to the plate. Three strikes later, Carrie walked back to the dugout. 

Jess Monae was an easy out, too. She was much stronger on second base than she was as a batter. 

Next came Angie to bat with a playful glint in her eye. Emma gave a quick look over her shoulder to where Shelby was intently watching Angie. Having a good idea about what was about to happen, Emma delayed her release by a fraction of a second, and, sure enough, there was a shout from Hannah. Emma pivoted on the spot and threw to second where Shelby was running at a breakneck pace to try and steal. 

The ball left Emma’s hand, and the world slowed down. She could see the ball traveling straight to Hannah’s glove as Shelby dropped to the ground to try and slide into the base. Dust trailed into the air, followed by the satisfying sound of leather hitting leather. There was a shout from behind Emma, and everything came crashing back to normal. 

The Racine fans went wild, starting a ringing chant of “Nolan” that Emma couldn’t help but smile at. 

“Nice hit,” Emma said as she ran over to where Shelby’s hat was laying in the dirt and picked it up, gave it a small dusting, and handed it to Shelby with a smile. 

Shelby gave her head a small shake before pulling her hat back on, “are you going to give me something easier to hit next time?” 

Emma shrugged, reaching over to brush off a clump of dirt on Shelby’s uniform. “How about we practice one-on-one during the off-season?” 

“I’m holding you to that, Nolan,” Shelby said ina faux-serious tone. 

“I know you will.” Emma chuckled before heading to the dugout to get ready to bat. 

The game was close. Every time the Belles managed to score, the Peaches were never far behind with their own. 

It was the bottom of the seventh. Two outs. A tied game. And a runner on third ready to slide home and win the championship for Racine. 

Emma was trying hard not to be suffocated by the pressure as she grabbed her bat and started towards the plate. 

She had been doing a good job of ignoring Alyssa as much as she could throughout the game. However, it was much more challenging than she had anticipated it to be. Still, Emma managed to only sneak glances at the catcher instead of outright staring like she usually did. 

Emma slowly made her way to the home plate, acutely aware of the way Alyssa was watching her. Her resolve faltered, and Emma looked at Alyssa as she got closer. There was something in Alyssa’s face that immediately put Emma at ease, but there was a sparkle in her eye that made her heart flutter just a little more than expected. 

The crowd was uncharacteristically quiet as the first pitch came to Emma. She didn’t swing; it looked just a little too high for her liking— “STRIKE!” 

“Shit.” Emma hissed between clenched teeth as she got back into position for the next one. This time it was way to the left. 

“Ball!” 

It seemed as if no one in the stadium was breathing. 

Emma took a step out of the box and rolled her neck to try to prepare herself. She stole another look at Alyssa, which helped center her again. Emma stepped back into the box and readied herself. 

It was perfect, right down the middle. Emma swung and heard a whispered “I love you” from behind her. There was the crack of ball meeting bat, and it soared deep into the outfield. 

Emma watched Kit barrel down the baseline towards home with a massive grin on her face. Emma took it as her cue to run and quickly rounded first. Angie had just gotten ahold of the ball and sent it flying to Jess, who caught it as Emma was making her way to third. 

She watched Alyssa catch the ball and held her glove out to tag Emma. The crowd was wild by this point, with fans pushing each other out of the way to see if The Countess of Curves was going to make it. 

She threw herself onto the ground, wincing a little as she felt the skin on her thigh cut open for the last time that season on the dirt. Emma wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but she managed to tangle her legs up in Alyssa’s, pulling the catcher to the ground. 

There was a shout from the umpire and an eruption of cheers from the crowd. But Emma didn’t notice because Alyssa Greene was lying on top of her, sweaty and out of breath, looking just like she did their last night together. 

“I love you too.” It was all Emma could say, and all she ever wanted to say to Alyssa.

If she could have spent the rest of her life at that moment of just the two of them, she would have. But Alyssa lifted herself off of Emma with a huge smile and reached a hand out to help the blonde up. “Congratulations, champ.” 

Emma couldn’t help but pull Alyssa into a crushing hug. She didn’t care if it looked strange to the fans. She wanted to celebrate with her best friend. She peeked over Alyssa’s shoulder and saw the Belles running towards them. “Meet me in the Belles’ locker room after you’re all packed up,” Emma whispered in Alyssa’s ear before letting her go and running towards her team. 

The celebration was a blur. Champagne bottles appeared out of nowhere, and the fans stormed the field for autographs and the chance to congratulate the team. Emma shook so many hands and thanked so many fans that she didn’t quite know where her smile ended, and her face began. It wasn’t until she saw Hawkins standing in the corner of the field, talking to Sheldon and Barry that she managed to break away from the crowd. 

“Mr. Hawkins!” She called out hoarsely as she jogged up to the men, “can I talk to you?” 

— — 

Emma took her sweet time showering and packing up her locker, making sure that she would be the last person left in the locker room. She was busily relacing her mitt when there was a gentle knock at the door, followed by Alyssa peeking her head in. Her hair was still wet from the shower, but she still managed to knock the air out of Emma’s lungs. 

Emma nearly jumped off of the bench as Alyssa walked in to meet her. “Hey.” 

“Hey,” Alyssa looked around uncertainly. They hadn’t been alone since their night together, and it was clear neither girl knew what to say. “Uh, congrats. Again.” 

“Thanks.” 

Alyssa sat down on one of the benches with a small humph, “so, what now?” 

Emma toed one of the tiles with her shoe, trying hard not to look at Alyssa. “I talked to Hawkins. Told him I’m going to be a Peach again.” 

“And he’s just going to let you do that?” Alyssa asked. Her face was a mixture of shock and excitement. 

Emma just shrugged, “he doesn’t really have a choice if he wants me to come back to the league next season.” She looked up at the brunette sitting across from her. “I want to be with you.” 

“Emma…” Alyssa was next to her in an instant, pulling Emma in close for a kiss. 

It wasn’t filled with fire and passion like their last one had been. This was soft and filled with everything they hadn’t been able to say in the last few weeks. 

Alyssa pulled away first, pressing her forehead against Emma’s and cradling her cheek. “I think I’m going to stay in Rockford. Maybe get a job in the factory or at the diner.” 

“We’re headed back to Racine tomorrow, but I’ll be on the first train to Rockford as soon as I can,” Emma said softly. “Maybe we can get a little house or something?” 

“I’d like that a lot.” Alyssa leaned in until their lips were just barely touching, “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

— — 

_**Epilogue** _

“Alright, ladies, please make sure your bags are properly put away, and that includes bats. Jess, I’m looking at you.” Angie called out from the front of the bus. “I don’t want to have to deal with concussions before we even play a game.” 

Angie had taken over Dee Dee’s role as team chaperone for the Peaches. She insisted it was purely based on the better pay, but Emma and Alyssa had the sneaking suspicion that all the “grandma” comments had gotten to her. At 35, she had a solid 15 year lead on the new recruits, and even though she was quick on the field, the game had started to take its toll on her. So, when Dee Dee “retired” and married Mr. Hawkins, Angie was the obvious choice for the new team chaperone. 

Shelby and Kaylee giggled as they whispered back and forth from their normal shared bus seat next to Emma and Alyssa. To the outside observer, they managed to pass off as friends. But anyone who knew the girls could see the truth.

It was in the small moments. The way Shelby would look at Kaylee when she thought no one else was looking. Or how Kaylee always found a way to be touching Shelby in some manner. 

Barry climbed into the bus and cleared his throat, bringing the Peaches’ attention to him. “Now, girls. I won’t be able to show my face anywhere if we don’t win this season, and I’d like to have a social life next year when I’m not worried about a busload of ballplayers.” His eyes sparkled as he looked around at his team. With Emma back, they had a real shot at the championship, and they all knew it. “So, when we get to South Bend, we’re going to give the crowd a good game and grind those girls into the dust. Sound good?” 

His question was answered with a round of whoops and cheers from the team. Barry patted the driver on the shoulder, and the bus sputtered to life, carrying the Peaches out of Rockford. 

Emma watched the Illinois countryside pass by through the window as the morning sun climbed its way up the sky. Alyssa fell asleep on Emma’s shoulder half an hour into the ride. Even asleep, she was still holding onto Emma’s hand underneath the jacket that was carefully laid between them. 

It wasn’t a perfect situation by any means of the word, but it was theirs, and that was all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting and giving all those kudos. I really loved being able to write this and y'all's reactions made it a joy. 
> 
> Thank you to my favorite partner in baseball-crime, Seaunicorn for her guidance and the occasional kick in the ass that I needed to get this done.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my partner in baseball crime, Seaunicorn. Love you big time


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